


Roman Holiday

by whatname0523



Series: Roman Holiday [1]
Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-29
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-09-20 17:32:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 44,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9502547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatname0523/pseuds/whatname0523
Summary: Sometimes a small inconvenience can lead to a great thing. Is 10 days long enough to fall in love?





	1. Saturday

**_Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain seated until the captain turns off the seatbelt sign. We thank you again for flying with us today. The current local time is 9:22 am. Welcome to Rome._ **

The flight attendant’s latest announcement had jolted Christen awake. She was groggy from the half of an Ambien that was still in her system. Christen powered up her iPhone as the plane parked at the jetway. _I can’t believe I just slept through that whole flight._ The two vodka sodas on her layover at JFK probably didn’t help either. She gathered her things from the seatback pocket and grabbed her purse from under the seat, making sure she wasn’t leaving anything behind.

Once the passengers were finally able to deplane, Christen stood up and followed the sea of people off the plane, making her way slowly to baggage claim. She had checked her big rolling suitcase at the ticketing counter in LA, and was left with her carry-on backpack and purse. She had checked the arrival boards twice to make sure she was waiting at the correct carousel for her luggage. Twenty minutes turned into forty-five and there were only a few stray bags still clanking around carousel A7. Christen’s black luggage with the red bow nowhere to be found.

 _Great._ _Benvenuto in Italia._ Christen whispered to herself. She spent the next half hour waiting in line at the lost baggage counter, trying to figure out what had happened to her suitcase.

It turns out the luggage never made it on the connecting flight in New York. So now it wasn’t in Rome with her. All of her clothes, makeup, hair products and shoes. Lost somewhere on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States.

Christen sighed. She was not going to let this little derailment ruin her first impression of Rome. After getting confirmation that her luggage would be delivered by the airline as soon as it arrived in Italy, Christen found the taxi line, greeting an older gentleman.

“Ciao. The St. Regis, please.” Christen smiled at the taxi driver. Christen tossed her backpack into the backseat next to her and slid in.

“Americano?” The man asked her as he pulled out of airport arrivals.

“Sì. American.” Christen answered quickly. This was basically the extent of Italian she knew.

“St. Regis, very nice place.” He tried to make small talk regarding her hotel. Going easy on her and speaking English to the young woman.

“Sì, that is what I’ve been told.” She responded pleasantly. “I didn’t book it, my work did.”

The pair continued with small talk of good restaurants near the hotel as they drove. The man was friendly, pointing out buildings and landmarks that were of historical importance, and Christen felt better about the start of her trip already.

When they arrived at the hotel, Christen was blown away by how fancy it was. If Christen had to think of one way to describe it, it would be a Palace. There were antiques and fine art lining the walls of the grand lobby, where a large staircase led up to the second floor. Very old but incredibly beautiful chandeliers hung from the high arching ceilings. There was also a fireplace and two beautiful couches with a coffee table right next to the entryway. Christen smiled to herself at the beauty of it all.

When she got checked in, she made her way up to her room. The room was just as beautiful as the rest of the hotel, but a little more modern feeling. The single king bed was draped in a fancy white duvet with a flat screen tv on the wall and an large desk and chair in the corner of the room. The bathroom was all marble with two sinks, a separate bathtub and one of those fancy waterfall showers. _Damn, I love this place,_ Christen thought out loud.

After quickly touring the large room, Christen kicked off her flats and collapsed onto the bed immediately. She laid there for a long moment, making a plan in her head.

_Okay, so it’s 12:30 now.. I don’t have anywhere to be today. I’ll ask the front desk for stores within walking distance. This is going to be ok. My luggage will be here soon._

She took a deep breath. She knew she would need to go out and get a couple things to wear for the next day or two. All she had with her now, besides what she was wearing, was a sweater for when she got cold on the airplane and some foundation and mascara. Christen wasn’t up tight at all, but generally liked to be put together when going out in public. Especially because she was here for work.

After thinking for awhile, Christen dozed off again. The bed was extra comfortable, and Rome was a 9 hour time difference from the West Coast, making it seem like 3:30 am in her head. The long nap on the flight obviously hadn’t prevented the jet lag.

An hour later, Christen eyes opened again. The afternoon sun was shining brightly through the big windows, right into her eyes. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. She decided she would shower and freshen up before heading out. Preferring to rinse off the staleness that comes with being on an airplane.

Making her way into the bathroom, she tried to figure out what she had to work with. No shampoo or conditioner were stocked in the shower, an amenity she was used to. Christen slid her flats back on and made her way back down to the front desk to see what they could provide her with.

“Ciao, miss. Can I help you with something?” The young man asked who working the front desk of the hotel.

“Ciao. Do you happen to have any shampoo and conditioner? Or body wash?” Christen politely asked.

“Oh my. We usually do, but we ran out this morning and our delivery isn’t coming until tomorrow, around noon.” The young man offered in an apologetic tone. “I am so sorry, miss.”

“You have nothing at all?” Christen questioned a little frantically. “I don’t mean to be a pain, it’s just that my suitcase and all of my luggage got lost on the flight over, and I don’t really have anything to work with.”

“Ok miss, let me go check again. Just for you. Please give me a moment.” The man responded to Christen’s question before walking off towards the back room.

There was a younger woman standing at the counter next to her, waiting on another concierge to come back. As Christen waited, she looked around and noticed the young woman next to her. The woman had long, light brown hair that was wavy in an air-dried kind of way. Her hair had been pushed back from her face with a pair of Ray-Bans that sat on top of her head. She had a tank top on, which revealed her slim but muscular arms, that had clearly been tanned perfectly in the summer sun. She had this extra laid back vibe about her, even from one glance.

The two locked eyes quickly and smiled at each other, before Christen turned back towards the computer in front of her. She hoped the woman didn’t think she was staring.

A minute later the man came back, no shampoo or conditioner in his hands.

“I am so sorry, Miss Press. I checked and we do not have any extras. Tomorrow we will have more.”

Christen ran her hand through her hair. _Why does it feel like the world is against me today?_

“Okay, thank you for checking. Do you happen to have any brochures about clothing stores in the area?” She questioned the man again.

The man walked off to retrieve them for her, Christen waiting again. The woman next to her seemed to have gotten the information that she needed next to her, but was just standing and listening still. Christen looked over at her and smiled again, trying to make it feel less awkward.

“Lost luggage?” The brown haired woman questioned as the locked eyes again.

Christen turned her body towards the woman, trying to be polite. “Yea, unfortunately.”

“That is always the worst.” The woman smiled. Her smile was almost blinding, white teeth beaming brightly. Christen couldn’t help but smile back, it was that nice.

“Yea, it’s never fun.” Christen replied, feeling like she should keep making small talk.

“You’re American, I’m guessing?” The woman asked again, continuing the conversation.

“Yea, I am. You too?” Christen responded.

“Yep.” The girl said back. She opened her mouth to say something else, but the man who was helping Christen approached the counter again.

“Here you are Miss. Please let us know if we can do anything to help. We will call as soon as we get your luggage delivered.”

“Thank you.” Christen smiled, taking the brochures and turning to walk away back towards the elevator bank.

Just as the Up button dinged and the elevator door opened, the brown hair woman called out to her again.

“Hey wait up.” She came running over in a slow motion jog, beaming smile still plastered across her face.

Christen turned again to see who was approaching, returning the smile without much of a choice. “Sorry, did you need me to hold the elevator for you?” She questioned, confused.

“No.. well yes, sure.” The woman responded. “Sorry.. I mean.” She stammered out.

Christen quietly smiled as the woman stepped into the elevator behind her.

“I overheard your conversation with the guy at the desk, sounds like you need some help.” She asked with another genuine smile.

“Ohh. I mean, it’s ok, not the end of the world.” Christen tried to wave her off.

“Well I have shampoo and conditioner.” The woman offered. “Our room was stocked with it yesterday when we checked in, and I always bring my own, so I’m not using it.”

“Oh.. are you sure?” Christen asked her, a little shyly.

“Of course, I wouldn’t offer it if I wasn’t sure.” The woman smiled again. _That smile,_ Christen found herself thinking.

The woman looked at the buttons on the elevator, selecting floor 7. She noticed Christen had selected floor 8. “You wanna hop off on my floor and I can grab it for you?”

“Yea, yea that would be great.” Christen gave her a nod of her head.

They rode in silence for a moment, before she spoke up again. “I’m Tobin, by the way.” The woman stuck her hand out to Christen.

“Christen. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too.” Tobin smiled again, not taking her eyes off of the dark haired woman in front of her. Just then the elevator dinged, floor 7 illuminated overhead. “This is me.”

Christen followed Tobin off the elevator and down the hall, almost towards the end. Tobin got her room key out and opened the door, ducking inside quickly as Christen waited in the hallway. She came back a few seconds later, two travel sized bottles of each in her hand.

“Here ya go, this was all we had.” Tobin handed them off to Christen.

“Seriously, thank you so much.” Christen smiled. “You’re a lifesaver.”

“I’m glad I could help.” Tobin grinned. “It’s nice to meet another American here. You’re the first one I’ve met so far.”

Christen laughed. “Well, I guess you’re the first person and first American I’ve met, so yea, very cool.” She shook her head. _Cool? Geez Christen._

They both looked at each other in silence for a moment and surprisingly it didn’t feel as awkward as it maybe should have.

“Thank you again.” Christen smiled for what felt like the millionth time in the last few minutes, making eye contact with Tobin before backing up slowly.

“No worries.” Tobin laughed and held her gaze. “Maybe I’ll see you around?”

“Maybe.” Christen responded, turning on her heel and heading back to the elevator. “Bye, Tobin.”

“Bye, Christen.”

She could sense that Tobin was watching her as she went. As she waited for the elevator to open again, she turned back towards where she had just come from, making eye contact with Tobin one last time. The elevator doors opened and Tobin offered a small wave to the woman down the hall.

A blush crept up Christen’s neck as she stepped inside. She had never had an encounter like this before. Christen put the back of her free hand over her warm cheeks. _What the heck was that and why am I blushing?_

Christen showered with the shampoo and conditioner she got from Tobin and dressed back into the outfit she wore on the plane. She double checked the map in her phone as she let her hair air dry into it’s naturally curly state before putting a little foundation and mascara on and setting out into the city.

It all felt very foreign to her in the best way. Christen had been to Italy before, but never to Rome. The city just had a magical feeling to it. As she strolled the vibrant streets, she found herself instantly in love with the aura of the Eternal City. The aroma of freshly ground coffee that was pouring out of the cafes as she walked by, the awe-inspiring art lining the streets. She just had a warm feeling that this was going to be a trip she would remember forever.

Eventually she found a small row of boutique shops, not far from the hotel, situated in the middle of a romantic sprawl of chic cafés and bars. She took her time browsing through racks and racks of mostly too-expensive clothes, before settling on a couple of vintage dresses, a floral printed top and a pair of black dress pants. She also found a cute pair of heels that would magically work with all three outfits, in case her suitcase took longer than anticipated to show up.

Afternoon turned into evening and Christen finally made her way back to the hotel. She was exhausted from walking all day but was feeling alive from the vibe of the city. She hadn’t eaten much of anything all day, she realized as her stomach growled loudly when she entered her hotel room. She was half-tempted to ignore it in favor of passing out for the rest of the night to try and get a hold on the jetlag; but she decided it would be fun to go down for dinner and a glass of wine.

The hotel had it’s own restaurant and wine cellar on the property, which Christen was intrigued with as soon as she saw pictures from her booking. She put on one of the dresses she bought earlier, a maroon sleeveless dress with a high neckline. The dress hugged her curves perfectly. It was dressy enough to make up for the lack of jewelry she currently had at her disposal and she opted to go with the black flats she had worn on the plane, instead of suffering in heels before she had to.

She made her way down to the restaurant and found a seat at the bar countertop. It was a fairly nice restaurant, with white linen clothed tables and candlelit centerpieces, but the bar option at the front of the room was slightly more laid back. A few others were dining solo at the bar, so she felt comfortable sliding up and motioning for the bartender.

Christen ordered the homemade spaghetti and meatballs and a glass of their famous house Merlot. The food was as good as she could have expected, eating a classic Italian dish in Italy. Halfway through her meal, a group of people walked into the restaurant and were led to a reserved table. The loud laughter of the group caught Christen’s attention, turning her head to see who was entering. Christen watched an older couple lead the way and about five other adults following closely behind, all laughing together at something. Just as Christen was about to turn back to her meal, her eyes caught sight of the same bright smile that she had seen in the hallway earlier.

As if on cue, Tobin turned to survey the room, almost instantly locking eyes with Christen at the bar. Tobin gave Christen her signature wide smile, which Christen returned, holding eye contact for a moment too long, before turning her head to find the path her family had taken.

Tobin’s family sat down and each ordered a glass of wine, all of them slightly dressed up. After a while, her parents got up and exited the restaurant, and a little later, the rest of the family left as well. Christen was sure that Tobin had gone with them, the room now quieter again.

“Can I have my check when you get a moment?” Christen requested to the bartender as she finished her second glass of wine. The man smiled and walked off to retrieve it. Christen was digging through her wallet as she felt someone approach.

“We meet again.” Came from just behind her right shoulder.

Christen turned in her chair slightly, watching as Tobin slid into the bar stool next to hers. She was taken aback by Tobin’s appearance, casual but dressy in that effortless way once again. Her hair was a clearly washed and blow-dried a little nicer than it had been this morning and her eyes were a dark brown hue that Christen couldn’t help but look into.

“It appears we have.” Christen smiled, feeling a little nervous all the sudden.

“I had a feeling we might.” Tobin smiled with a hint of meaning behind it, motioning for the bartender.

The man came back, dropping Christen’s check with her and turning to take Tobin’s order.

“I’ll have a glass of your Cabernet, please.” Tobin ordered, before pointing to Christen, “What about you?”

“Oh no, I’m good. I actually just closed my tab.” Christen said, holding up the black pad that was holding her receipt.

Tobin laughed lightly. “That's okay, it’s on me.. I mean, if you’ll stay for another glass?”

Christen looked between Tobin and the bartender, who was clearly a little confused. She quickly weighed the options in her head. Go upstairs and go to bed, be responsible and catch up on sleep before her first meeting on Monday; Or stay down here for one more glass of wine with this beautiful and mysterious new friend.

 _What the heck,_ Christen thought. “Ok why not, I’ll also take a glass of the Cab.”

“Good choice.” Tobin laughed, biting her lip a little and looking away from Christen for a moment.

Another moment of silence fell over them before Tobin continued the conversation.

“So, I see you changed clothes. Does that mean your luggage arrived? Tobin asked after her first sip of wine. She was eyeing Christen up and down in an innocent way, taking in her appearance.

“No, I spent the afternoon shopping.” She then took a drink of her new glass of wine. “I probably spent way more money than I should have.” Christen shrugged. “But, when in Rome.”

Tobin let out a belly laugh at Christen’s literal use of the old saying. “Wow, nice analogy.”

“Sorry I had to.” Christen laughed along with her.

“No, no. I liked it.” Tobin smiled again. “So, what’s a girl like you doing in Rome by herself?”

“Well, I’m not technically by myself. I’m actually here for work. Meetings just don’t start until Monday, so I’m doing my own thing until then.” Christen answered.

“Cool, what do you do?”

“I work for UNICEF, mostly working with placing refugee children to homes in America.” Christen answered, trying to keep her description brief but meaningful.

“Wow, that’s incredible.” Tobin answered honestly. “Are you here to bring Children back to the US?”

“Not this week, no. I’m here for meetings and then next weekend there is a Gala and fundraiser that we sponsor to raise money.” Christen continued. “I’m part of a team that organizes the annual Gala in Los Angeles every year; and this year, they invited me to Rome to be a part of this one.”

“That’s really cool, Christen.” Tobin was genuinely interested, turning her body so she was all but sitting sideways on the barstool, facing Christen.  

“Yea, I love it. It’s all very humbling.” Christen fell quiet for just a moment. “But enough about me, what brings you to Rome? I am guessing you aren’t alone, judging by that table of people you were with earlier.” Christen motioned her head towards the table Tobin was sitting at when she came in.

“Nope, I’m here with my family.” Tobin answered with a shrug. “My parents wanted us all to do one last big trip together before my sister gets married.”

“That sounds like fun.”

“Yea, I mean it is. Besides the fact that I’m the only single one and my sisters and brother all have their significant others with.” Tobin shrugged again. “My family is awesome though, so it’s a good time.”

“That sounds really awesome. How long are you guys here for?” Christen continued to ask.

“We are here until next Monday. We have a couple of day trips planned that will take us out of the city this week, but other than that, it’s mostly touristy stuff and sightseeing however we want.” Tobin filled Christen in on her family’s plan.

The two continued to talk for a while, basically closing the restaurant down. Christen learned that Tobin is a professional soccer player and had spent time living in France. Tobin learned that Christen had studied abroad in Spain in college. By closing time, they were the only two left in the place, besides the friendly bartender. Both starting to feel like they’d know each other longer than just a couple of hours.

Finally a yawn escaped Christen’s mouth, one that was long overdue. Tobin asked for the check, catching on that Christen was probably tired from her day of traveling.

Tobin pulled out her phone after she signed the receipt. “Ohh, it’s almost ten.” She said it an excited tone.

“That means it’s way past my bedtime.” Christen smiled, standing up from her chair. She had now had three glasses of wine and was much more tipsy than she had thought.

“How do you feel about pushing that back a little?” Tobin questioned as she also stood up.

“Pushing what back?” Christen asked in confusion.

“Your bedtime.”

“Ahh, why?” Christen yawned again.

Tobin smiled at the woman in front of her. “If you can give me another fifteen minutes, I’ll show you.”

Christen wanted to say no. She did. She was completely worn out and tired and wanted to get this dress off and crawl into bed and sleep like a baby. But something in her gut told her to give in. She couldn’t place the feeling she kept getting when talking with Tobin, but something between them was just clicking.

“Yea, I think I can handle fifteen minutes.” Christen said, running her hand over her hair.

“Perfect, follow me.” Tobin grabbed onto Christen’s hand for a moment, leading them out towards the lobby, dropping it casually after a few steps.

They passed up the lobby desk and made a left, heading out a side door that Christen hadn’t been out of yet. It led to a small garden area that was paved with brick, with a fountain in the middle of it; a few small tables on both sides. Grass and flowers lining the whole area.

Tobin passed the fountain and then stopped, standing still and looking up into the night sky. Christen was confused, or maybe drunk, but she couldn’t understand what they were doing.

“So.. stargazing?” She asked after a moment.

Tobin turned her head to look at Christen. Making eye contact again in a way that set Christen’s nerves on fire. “Just look up, and wait.” She spoke a little more softly in the quiet night.

So Christen did. Because apparently she couldn’t say no to this mysterious and interesting woman standing next to her. Not even twenty seconds later, as both of them had their heads craned towards the sky, a series of fireworks went off, not too far in the distance.

Tobin started to laugh as soon as she saw them. “Right on time.”

Christen let a smile take over her lips, unable to control the giddiness she was suddenly feeling. “Wow.” Was all that she could whisper out.

“How’d you know about this?” Christen asked after a minute of watching the fireworks pop in the distance.

“Well, it happened last night when I was out for a late night jog, so I asked the front desk what the occasion was. And they told me it happens every night at 10:10, as long as the weather is good.”

“This is amazing.” Christen said through another smile. They continued to watch for a few more minutes as the fireworks gradually started to slow.

Tobin looked over at Christen, whose face was illuminated from the fire booming in the night sky. She saw how the dark haired girl smiled so happily next to her and she was hooked. Tobin knew she wanted to get to know the beautiful woman next to her more. Almost felt like she _had_ to. It both excited and scared her. _One week is all I have._

As Tobin watched, Christen let another yawn escape her lips, this time bigger than the others back at the bar.

The night went dark again and Tobin relented. She’d have to let her sleep sometime.

“Tobin, that was really cool. What a perfect way to end my first night in Rome.” Christen smiled as she turned to face Tobin.

“I’m glad you liked it.” Tobin felt herself be mesmerized some more as they looked at each other. Christen’s vibrant green eyes were barely visible through the darkness, only illuminated by a couple dim lamps around the fountain path. “I think I better let you get to bed.” She said with another smile.

“Yea, that sounds like a good plan.” Christen felt herself almost hesitate, wanting to prolong this a little more, before she slowly started to turn back towards the lobby.

Both women waited for the elevator together and as they stepped inside, Tobin reached for the floor buttons at the same time as Christen did, knocking Christen’s phone out of her hand and onto the floor.

“Sorry.” Tobin said, bending down to pick it up. Christen made a move to pick it up as well, stumbling slightly as the elevator jerked. It may have had a little to do with the three glasses of wine she had too.

Tobin reached a hand out, gently steadying Christen’s hips to stop her from swaying. They both locked eyes again and laughed. “Sorry.” Christen returned.

Tobin retrieved the phone from the floor of the elevator and secured it back into Christen’s hand. Glancing at it like she wanted to put her number in it. Christen looked up and saw where Tobin was looking, so Tobin took a risk and went for it.

“If you want, I could give you my number? We could do something again this week, I mean, if you have time.” Tobin asked, an unusual hint of nerves in her tone.

“Yea, yea that would be cool.” Christen answered, almost a little too quickly. Christen handed her phone back to Tobin and watched her type her number in.

 _Tobin Heath._ Christen read it as Tobin handed her phone back. Just then, the elevator stopped at floor 7, Tobin’s stop.

“Thanks for the wine.” Christen smiled, watching as Tobin slowly backed out of the elevator.

“Thanks for the company.” Tobin smiled back. “Good night, Christen.”

They held eye contact again as the doors started shutting. “Night Tobin.”


	2. Sunday

Tobin tossed and turned for most of the night. She usually was a sound sleeper, able to fall asleep at the drop of a hat. But for some reason after her evening with Christen, she just couldn’t shut her brain off. She kept thinking about those piercing green eyes that would fade to gray in the right lighting. And how it seemed like Christen’s smile was lighting up the Roman sky, instead of the fireworks they were watching. It took every ounce of Tobin’s strength to focus on the display rather than just stare at the stunning woman next to her.

All those thoughts coupled with the wine didn’t mix well. She found herself rolling over to look at the clock on the nightstand for the hundredth time. 8:06 am. She sighed and grabbed her phone.

Tobin had checked it one last time before she got into bed last night, with the slight hope that a certain unknown number would appear. She made herself wait to look at it every time she woke up in the night, knowing that the text she wanted to be there hadn’t come through. Now that she was fully awake for the day, she checked it again. A few snap chats from friends back home were all that lit up her home screen. No texts.  

Tobin ran her hand through her hair, gently pulling through the snarls that had come from rolling around all night. She couldn't help but want to kick herself. _I should have gotten her number instead._ Just as Tobin was mentally berating herself, a soft knock landed on her hotel room door. Tobin escaped from the mound of covers and padded over to open the door.

Her sister Perry and Perry’s boyfriend, Taylor, greeted her from the hallway.

“Morning, Tobs.” Perry said, smiling as she strode past Tobin, into her hotel room.

“Morning, please do come in.” Tobin said sarcastically.

“You’re looking a little rough, sleep okay?” Perry questioned with genuine interest.

“Ah, not great. Not sure why.” Tobin responded. She wasn’t ready to give anything away just yet.

“Well, we’re gonna head down for breakfast, you wanna join?” Taylor asked as he stood close to the door, clearly not wanting to wait long.

Tobin looked in the mirror and saw her appearance. If she was going to go down to breakfast, there was a chance she’d see Christen there. It was complimentary for all the guests, after all.

“Ah, yea. That’d be cool. Can you give me ten minutes to shower quick?” Tobin asked.

Taylor and Perry agreed, flipping on the tv as Tobin retreated to the bathroom, showering as quickly as she could. When she was done, she dressed in a pair of black jeans and a casual white tank, letting her wavy hair air dry.

“Ready when you guys are.” Tobin smiled, heading for the door.

As the three of them got to breakfast, Tobin surveyed the area for any sight of the dark haired beauty from last night. There were no signs of her anywhere. Tobin sat down a little bummed, but she tried to brush it off. _We only met 12 hours ago, why am I so hung up on this?_

For the rest of the morning, Tobin tried her best not to think of Christen. The family made plans to go see the Trevi Fountain that afternoon, meeting up and taking a bus from their hotel together. Tobin had really enjoyed taking in all the sights of the city as the bus drove them to their destination. It was only their third day in Rome, and Tobin was still getting used to how beautiful and old and historic it all was.

Tobin and her family spent the day wandering around the quaint side streets of the fountain, before joining a small group of tourists who were being told historical facts of the fountain and the area. Tobin learned that one of the popular rituals of the Trevi Fountain is to make a wish and throw a coin into the water, and it will ensure you find love in the Eternal City. Tobin laughed to herself, and felt a little silly that as she tossed her coin, all she could think of was Christen.

When they were finished sightseeing for the day, it was getting close to dinner time. The group decided on a small Irish pub, about halfway back towards where their hotel was located. They all found a table near the back of the pub, Tobin taking a seat with her back towards the door. The whole group ordered beers and food, passing plates for everyone to try.

About a half hour after their order arrived, Tobin felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She pulled out her phone quickly, glancing at it as a smile spread across her face.

It was a text from a number she didn’t know. She quickly opened it, butterflies filling her stomach instantly.

_{310-324-0938}_ **_I promise I’m not following you._ **

Tobin lifted her head and glanced around. She didn’t see the dark haired woman anywhere. Turning around in her seat, she craned her neck to see the front door. Sure enough, there stood Christen. She was looking right at Tobin, with a small smile on her face.

She wasn’t alone, being led to a table on the side of the room with two other men and a woman. Tobin watched with a smile as Christen took her seat. One of the men she was with quickly swooped in and pulled out her chair. Tobin wondered for a moment who that guy was.

She turned around in her seat, opting to send a text back instead of trying to motion for her again.

_{Tobin Heath}:_ **_It would be okay if you were._ **

Tobin felt a little unsure about what tone she should take in the text, but decided she didn’t really care if Christen thought she was flirting. She waited a moment and then turned her head again, watching as Christen read the text and then looked up to make eye contact.

Tobin could tell that Christen let out a quiet laugh when she read it. She sighed, glad that it came off okay, waiting again for Christen to text back. Tobin quickly saved Christen’s name to her contact list, instead of leaving it as a random number.

A few minutes later, Tobin’s phone vibrated in her hand again.

{Christen}: **_Busy day, sorry I didn’t text earlier. I’ll let you enjoy your dinner._ **

{Tobin Heath}: **_No worries. I’ll come say hi before we leave._ **

Tobin watched as Christen smiled her phone again, before she put it away in her purse, presumably not wanting to be rude to her coworkers. Tobin tried to leave her be and enjoy her meal, but she couldn't help but glance in Christen’s direction every now and then. She seemed pretty immersed in conversation throughout their dinner, actively talking with her hands as she told animated stories.

After a while, Christen got up from her seat and made her way to the bar, motioning for the bartender. Tobin quickly excused herself from listening to her brother Jeff talk about some fishing competition he was entering in, and made her way towards where Christen was leaning against the counter.

“You know, they say that Peroni is the only beer to drink in Rome, I hope that’s what you ordered.” Tobin leaned into Christen a little, before she noticed she was next to her.

Christen turned her head and smiled at Tobin, realizing she had come over to the bar.

“You like to sneak up on people.” Christen joked lightly.

Tobin laughed at Christen’s statement. “Only certain people.”

“Ahh, good to know.” Christen laughed as the bartender set her beer down in front of her. She looked at it and then held it up for Tobin. It was a Peroni.

“I do my research.” Christen offered another smile, more flirty this time.

“Good to know.” Tobin returned Christen’s words from a moment ago.

“What’d you do today?” Christen asked as she took a sip of her beer.

“We just got done checking out the Trevi Fountain.” Tobin answered.

“Ohh, nice. That’s on my list.” Christen smiled with excitement. “Please tell me you tossed a coin in.”

“Of course.” Tobin answered quickly.

“Good, good. What’d you wish for?” Christen questioned, her tone a little teasing.

“Nice try.” Tobin laughed. “If I tell, it won’t come true.”

Christen took another sip of her beer, holding eye contact with Tobin again for a moment before she looked back at her table. Christen felt like she should probably go back to her group. Tobin could sense that’s what she was thinking.

“I should probably go sit when them.” Christen motioned to where her stuff was.

“Yea, of course.” Tobin nodded in understandment. Then offered a little playful banter. “ I’m sure you’ll end up at the next place I’m at anyway.”

Christen’s face reddened a tiny bit. “I swear, this is pure coincidence. We were out and about all day.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll let you off the hook this time.” Tobin laughed again. “If you want, come say hi when your done eating. We will be here for a while, I’m sure.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Christen smiled, walking past Tobin towards her table again.

Christen and her coworkers stayed for a while longer, chatting about what to expect in the upcoming meetings this week. It had gotten a little later, and the three people she was with all decided to grab a cab back to the hotel. It was close enough to walk, but it would take a while.

Christen looked over to where Tobin and her family were still seated, most of them with half empty beers. She shot Tobin another text, debating if she was going to go back to the hotel with her coworkers right now or not.

{Christen}: **_My coworkers are all heading back to the hotel. You staying for a while?_ **

{Tobin Heath:} **_Yea, I think so. The night is early._ **

Christen smiled, internally debating about what to do. She _should_ go. Meetings started tomorrow. And Tobin was with her family, none of whom she had met. It would be weird if she just went up and said hi and sat down with them. But she felt herself wanting to stay out for another beer. She was wide awake and wanting to make the most of her time abroad.

It was like Tobin could tell that Christen was unsure, so when Christen looked up and caught her eye contact again, Tobin motioned towards the bar, silently telling Christen to meet her there.

Christen said goodbye to her coworkers, telling them she was going to hang out for a bit and then walk back, before she grabbed her purse and walked towards the bar once again.

Tobin was waiting there for her, already speaking to the bartender.

“Okay, you win.” Christen said, lightly knocking her shoulder with Tobin’s.

Tobin laughed and turned her body towards Christen’s, making eye contact again. Tobin felt the butterflies return as Christen’s green eyes held on longer than necessary. A trait Tobin was learning was one of her favorites about Christen. Something about direct eye contact was so sexy to her.

Tobin cleared her throat, realizing she should say something. “Awesome. I ordered you another beer.”

“Tobin. I’m pretty sure it’s my turn to buy you a beer.” Christen protested. Just then, the bartender put two beers down in front of them. Christen tried to reach for her debit card, but Tobin put her arm out and grabbed Christen’s hand before she could reach her purse.

“Don’t worry about it. I put it on my parents tab anyway.” Tobin let out a laugh.  

Christen just shook her head, deciding not to argue. She knew she’d find a way to pay Tobin back anyway.

“Come on, let’s go sit.” Tobin said, turning and walking back towards her family before Christen could answer.

Christen followed her, trying to keep pace, even though she felt a little awkward.

Tobin just smiled at her family as they approached the table. “You guys, this is Christen.” She said immediately. “She’s staying at our hotel and she’s our new American friend.”

Tobin pulled out the empty chair next to her, before sitting down in her own. She then introduced her parents by name, Jeff and Cindy, and her two sisters, her brother and all their significant others. Christen would be lying if she said she caught everyone’s name.

The dark haired girl offered a small wave to the table as everyone genuinely said hi. She realized she was still standing when she looked down and made eye contact with Tobin again, who just nodded at the seat.

Christen sat down, dropping her purse to the floor, and settling into the conversation. She spent most of her time talking with Tobin, but they also engaged in several playful conversations with Tobin’s siblings. For some reason, Tobin seemed to be the one they lovingly picked on the most, which made Christen laugh a lot. Again, she found herself feeling like she’d known them all way longer than a few minutes.

Eventually, Jeff and Cindy decided to take off, offering to leave their tab open so the kids could continue to enjoy themselves, before getting a cab back to the hotel. When they left, Christen looked at her phone, noticing it was almost 9. She knew it was time to go, needing a good night’s sleep so she could be focused for her first day of work tomorrow.

She finished off the last of her beer, before turning to Tobin again. “I hate to be lame, but I’ve got a big day ahead of me tomorrow.”

“Ah, yes. Work starting?” Tobin asked, giving Christen all of her attention.

“Yea, we’ve got meetings starting early. I won’t have much time for anything else all day.” Christen explained. “We’re meeting with several companies, trying to secure donations for next year’s Gala.”

“Sounds busy.” Tobin smiled almost sympathetically.

“Yea it will be. But we do have a day off on Tuesday, so that is nice.” Christen answered, standing up from the table. Tobin got up too, not sure what she should do, but not willing to let Christen walk out of here alone.

“It was great meeting you all.” Christen said to the table. They all told her they’d hang out again before she left. Tobin smiled at her siblings statement. _That is definitely happening._

Christen turned to Tobin, who was standing next to her. “Thanks again for the beer.”

“No problem.” Tobin smiled, motioning for Christen to walk ahead of her.

“Oh, you’re leaving now too?” Christen asked before she moved.

“Yep.” Tobin answered simply.

“Okay.” Christen said a little surprised, turning to walk out of the restaurant. Tobin following behind her. Once they were out into the cool night air, Tobin signaled for a cab

“Oh, I was actually going to walk.” Christen said as she noticed what Tobin was doing.

“Cool.” Tobin just hummed, turning to walk up the street. Christen stopped for a moment, calling to Tobin.

“You really don’t have to come, stay and have fun with your family.”

Tobin turned around, walking backwards as she spoke. “Not a chance. I’m walking you back.”

“I can handle myself.” Christen said, almost a little bit of defensiveness in her voice.

“I know that.” Tobin said turning to walk up the road again.

“Okay, so why aren’t you staying?” Christen asked genuinely confused.

Tobin stopped again, turning around to look at Christen. She waited for a moment in silence, deciding what she wanted to say. She just decided to be honest. She wasn’t sure why, but felt like she could tell Christen the truth.

“Probably because I like spending time with you.” Tobin shrugged.

“Oh..” Christen was caught off guard at Tobin’s honesty. Then she gave Tobin a big smile, butterflies filling her stomach. “Well ok, let’s go then..”

Christen laughed as she brushed past Tobin towards the hotel. Tobin shook her head and laughed, jogging the couple steps to catch up with Christen so they could walk side by side.

Christen got out her iPhone to make sure they were on the right road. _1.2 miles, not too bad._ They spent the walk telling each other about the funniest thing that ever happened to them, and where their favorite place to travel was. Tobin learned that Christen had two sisters and two dogs that she considered sisters. All the while, they would playfully bump shoulders every now and then. Christen couldn’t tell, but was fairly positive that Tobin was doing it on purpose. And she found herself liking the extra bit of contact.

As they were almost back, seeing the hotel entryway in the distance, Christen’s phone rang, pulling them both out of conversation. Tobin was walking close enough to her that she could see what the screen said when Christen looked at it.

Incoming Call: **_Ryan_ **

Christen quickly silenced the call, ignoring it.

“You can get that if you need to.” Tobin said as she looked over at Christen.

Christen’s demeanor had suddenly changed, a little more guarded than she had been the whole walk.

“Nah that’s okay. Not tonight.” Christen sighed, tossing her phone into her purse, trying to rid the thought from her mind. They walked in silence for a minute.

“Boyfriend?” Tobin asked, not even sure she wanted to hear the answer.

“Ah, Ex.” Christen replied, a little quieter.

Tobin felt bad, she knew Christen was clearly affected by the call. But she also figured it was as good of a time as any to clarify Christen’s current situation. There had been no mention of a boyfriend, _or girlfriend,_ so far, but Tobin figured she'd put herself out of her misery now.

“I see. So who is the lucky person that gets to call you theirs?” Tobin asked, trying to keep her voice level like she didn’t care what the answer was going to be.

Christen laughed, looking at Tobin for the first time in a few minutes. “Nobody.”

Tobin laughed in disbelief.

“What?” Christen asked, wondering why Tobin was laughing.

“Nothing, it just doesn’t make sense.” Tobin defended.

“That I’m single?” Christen wanted Tobin to explain.

“Well, yea I guess so.” Tobin went quiet for a moment, keeping her eyes on the road. “I mean, you kinda seem like the total package.”

Christen stopped walking, letting Tobin pass her, who hadn’t noticed right away.

After a few steps, Tobin looked to her left and noticed Christen was no longer walking next to her. Turning around, Tobin looked at Christen quizzically.

“Well, what if I’m a strong, independent woman who can take care of herself?” Christen asked Tobin, still standing in the same spot.

Tobin laughed and then was silent for a moment, weighing her response.

“Do you want my honest answer?” Tobin asked, walking back towards where Christen had stopped.

“Yea I do.” Christen said right away. Tobin waited to answer until she got right in front of where Christen was standing, stopping and running a hand through her hair.

“Well.. I’d say that’s super hot.” Tobin said, barely a hint of a smile on her face.

Christen blushed again. The way she had way too many times around this woman she was just getting to know.

“Okay.” Christen had no idea how to respond. _I think she just called me hot?_

“Okay?” Tobin laughed again. “That’s it?”

“What are we even talking about?” Christen’s head was spinning.

Tobin was feeling confident. She usually did around almost everyone. Not in a cocky way, but just in a self-assured way. And for some reason she liked telling Christen the truth. So she kept going.

“We’re talking about how hot you are.” Tobin answered truthfully.

Christen clearly didn’t know what to say. She opened her mouth and then shut it again. Tobin laughed at her struggle.

“Look, I’m just saying. Back there, when that call came in, it seemed like it ruined your mood.” Tobin explained. “We were having a great conversation, and then all of the sudden you seemed like you were sad.”

Christen continued to look at Tobin, nodding slightly to confirm her mood change. Tobin spoke again.

“So I figured it would cheer you up if I told you how great I think you are. I can already tell, you’re fun and interesting and smart..and well, hot.”

“I’m not that great, but thanks.” Christen smiled and looked down at her shoes. She was never good at handling compliments.

Tobin bit her lip, trying not to be frustrated at Christen’s response. “Alright, well I’ll work on proving that to you.”

They stood in a silent limbo for another moment. Christen was clearly letting Tobin’s words sink it.

“Let’s go, you’re the one on a tight schedule here.” Tobin grabbed Christen’s arm, pulling her along so they could make it up the road to their hotel. Tobin let go of Christen’s arm and they walked closely together again the rest of the way.

As they rode the elevator up, Tobin figured it would be worth it to try and make plans again. She couldn’t get enough.

“So, tomorrow?” Tobin asked.

“Meet-” Christen started.

"Meetings all day, I know." Tobin cut her off.

Christen just looked at her a little apologetically.

“Okay. So how about dinner?” Tobin continued.

Christen laughed. “We have a work dinner planned at a place near the office. I think it’ll be late when I get back.”

“Alright.” Tobin relented. The door once again dinged at floor 7. It seemed like the elevator timing kept interrupting them.

“Maybe Tuesday?” Christen suggested quickly, not wanting to seem uninterested, as Tobin held the elevator door open with her arm.

“Ah, Tuesday. We have a day tripped planned actually.” Tobin answered at Christen’s suggestion.

“Bummer. Ok, well text me if plans change. I know that is my only free day so far.” Christen said, a little sadness in her tone.

Tobin was looking at the carpet, clearly thinking something through in her head.

“Come with us.” Tobin then thought out loud. She hadn’t really planned on saying that but as soon as it came out, she was glad she did.

“Where?”

“We’re heading to the coast to do a sailing trip.” Tobin explained.

“Oh, no. I wouldn’t want to intrude.” Christen answered, shaking her head.

The elevator door started to buzz, the way it does when it needs to close to continue on it’s way. Tobin ignored it.

“I want you to come, it’ll be fun. It’s already paid for and there is plenty of room for one more.” Tobin smiled hopefully.

“Can I think about it?” Christen asked. Her head was spinning again. She just met Tobin. Tobin, who think’s she smart and fun and _hot._ And she doesn’t want to ruin her family’s plans, she barely knows any of them.

“Yea, think about it.” Tobin offered a smile. She then lifted her hand off of the elevator door and stepped back inside. Before Christen could process what was happening, Tobin was wrapping her arms around Christen’s waist, pulling her into a tight hug. Christen felt herself relax into Tobin instantaneously, wrapping her hands around Tobin’s shoulders quickly.

It only lasted maybe three seconds, before Tobin was backing up and out of the elevator again.

“Have fun at work tomorrow. Text me.” Tobin smiled. Christen nodded in silence as the elevator door finally closed.  

Christen could smell Tobin’s almost familiar scent on her now, smiling without realization as the elevator dropped her on the 8th floor. She felt warmer and lighter than she had in awhile. And all she could think of was Tobin as she drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying not to make it too much of a slow burn here. Please let me know if you have thoughts!


	3. Tuesday

Christen spent all day Monday tied up in meetings. It turned out to be busier than she had even anticipated. The group managed to land three headlining sponsors for next year’s Gala, which was more than they expected on the first day. Luckily, that would mean she would be a little less busy later in the week, possibly even getting another day off before the Gala on Saturday. She was glad for a productive start to the week. 

During a couple of breaks throughout the day, Christen sent a couple of texts back and forth with Tobin. She spent a good amount of time thinking over Tobin’s invitation to join them on Tuesday, and figured she might as well say yes. The truth is, she felt herself missing Tobin throughout the day. Every time she got a chance to check her phone and saw a text waiting from her, Christen’s day got a little happier. There was just something that radiated off of Tobin that made Christen want to be around her.

So while they were on the way to dinner after finishing up their meetings, Christen decided to firm up their plans for the following morning, making sure she was still invited.

{Christen}:  **_So, what time does the ship set sail tomorrow?_ **

{Tobin Heath}:  **_My dad says promptly at 8 am, and you better be on board._ **

{Tobin Heath}:  **_The weather says sunny and 81, can’t beat that._ **

{Tobin Heath}:  **_And I’ll be there, so it’ll obviously be great._ **

Christen laughed to herself as they were stopped in traffic. 

{Christen}:  **_Twist my arm why don’t you._ **

{Tobin Heath}:  **_What’s your room number?_ **

{Christen}: **_817, why?_ **

{Tobin Heath}:  **_How else will I know where to pick you up in the morning?_ **

{Christen}: **_I can meet you in the lobby._ **

{Tobin Heath}: **_Just be ready, I’ll be there at 7:45._ **

{Christen}:  **_Only if you let me buy you a coffee. I can’t function that early without it._ **

{Tobin Heath}: **_It’s a date._ **

She read the last text Tobin had sent her a few times in a row, smiling more widely at it each time.

{Christen}:  **_Just getting to dinner, talk to you later._ **

Christen sent one last reply, letting Tobin know she wouldn’t be able to text anymore.

For some reason, those three words,  _ it’s a date _ , kept replaying in Christen’s head all night. She found herself loving the sound of it. She wasn’t used to being this carefree about anything. And she certainly didn’t plan on finding someone she would be interested in spending time with on this work trip. But for some reason Christen was drawn to Tobin. She decided to loosen up a little and step out of her comfort zone and just see where this week went. She did recently promise herself to start going after what makes her happy. 

Dinner seemed to drag on, and by the time the day was finally over, Christen and her coworkers were dropped off at their hotel, just after 10 pm. Thankfully while she was gone, Christen’s lost luggage was delivered to the hotel. The housekeeping staff brought it up to her room for her so she wouldn’t have to deal with it herself. Christen felt like she finally could relax, all of her possessions back to her safely.

After kicking off her heels and quickly rummaging through her suitcase, Christen headed straight for the shower, standing under the waterfall until the hot water steamed up the room. When she got out, she wrapped herself in the white robe that was provided by the hotel and snuggled into her comfy king sized bed. 

She set her alarm before she drifted off to sleep, too tired to even turn the tv on. 

Tuesday morning when the alarm on her iPhone went off, Christen rolled over and got up immediately. She was tired, and the jet lag hadn’t fully worn off yet, but she was also really looking forward to the day ahead of her. She took her time straightening her hair perfectly, before applying a light amount of makeup and enough eyeliner to make her eyes pop. She dressed in a pair of black shorts, her favorite pair and hugged her butt nicely, and a dark green tank top. 

As she was tossing some extra clothes and a bikini into her backpack to take with, she heard a soft knock on her door. She looked over at the clock, a little caught off guard that time had gone so quickly this morning.  _ 7:42 _ , it read. Tobin was right on time.  

Christen opened the door to Tobin standing on the other side of it. She was wearing a White henley t-shirt, with the buttons undone, dipping low on her chest, and a pair of jean shorts. Christen took her time looking Tobin over, her tanned legs and strong calf muscles made Christen feel a little weak. 

Tobin chuckled to herself as she let Christen check her out. “Morning.” She said as she cleared her throat.

“Hey.” Christen eyes wandered back up Tobin’s body, smiling widely at the girl in front of her. “You look.. good.” 

Tobin gave Christen a coy smile. “Yea, so do you.” Taking her own opportunity to check Christen out.

Christen stepped back and let Tobin wander into her hotel room. Tobin looked around surveying the place as Christen quickly finished packing. 

“So, ready to go?” She asked as Christen zipped up her backpack. 

Christen grabbed her purse and room key, making sure she had everything. “Ready.”

The pair made their way down to the lobby to grab a coffee while they waited for Tobin’s family to assemble. True to her word, Christen bought Tobin’s drink, learning that she prefers a cappuccino over anything else. They sat down on the couch near the fireplace as they waited.

“I guess now would be a good time to ask where we are going today.” Christen spoke as she watched Tobin sip her coffee.

“That would ruin the thrill of the surprise.” Tobin smirked a little, raising her eyebrows.

“You didn’t say it was a surprise.” Christen prodded. “Plus, you said sailing off the coast, so I already have a general idea.” 

Tobin decided to give in, wanting Christen to look forward to the day. “Yea, my parents booked this sail boat out of Ponza Island.”

“Hmm, I don’t think I’ve heard of it.” Christen said, pulling up her phone so she could check it out on the map.

“We actually have to drive to a ferry, and that takes us to the Island, and then we get on the sailboat.” Tobin explained.  “And then we sail out into the Sea.” Tobin continued. 

She found the link that her parents had sent her with the booking confirmation, handing her phone to Christen so she could look at the information.

Christen was quiet for a moment as she read the webpage. “Wow, this looks amazing.” She looked at Tobin who was just smiling at her. 

“A day in paradise with me, what wouldn’t be amazing about that?” Tobin shrugged a little surely, taking another swig of her coffee as Christen shook her head. She was feeling good about the day ahead of them. 

Tobin’s family all greeted Christen warmly as they congregated in the lobby. Her mom even gave Christen a big hug, genuinely happy that she was joining them. Finally when everyone was set, they all loaded up a shuttle van and took off. It was a short drive, maybe 30 minutes, before they were being dropped off at the ferry. The ferry ride took a little longer, but eventually they made it to Ponza Island. It was gorgeous. 

Tobin and Christen were lagging behind the rest of a group a little bit as they both took some pictures of the scenery, before boarding the sailboat. 

An older lady smiled and greeted them warmly as she passed them. “Enjoy your trip, but please don’t tell everyone about it!” 

They both just laughed and said thank you, totally unsure of why she would say that. But as the day wore on, Christen started to realize what she meant. She hadn’t even heard of the Island until Tobin told her about it this morning. It was like this magical hidden secret. 

They set sail on a large sailboat, cruising around the island through the clear blue water. There were several other people on board besides their group. A nice couple from Australia, and some Italians that had come south from Venice. 

After sailing around the island for about an hour, the Captain turned the sails against the wind so they would stop, dropping the anchor to hold them in place. “Okay, my friends. Time to swim. We have snorkeling gear if you would like. Feel free to change in the quarters down below.” 

Tobin planned ahead and wore her swimsuit under her clothes, but Christen had to head below deck and change, urging Tobin not to wait for her. So Tobin jumped in, dying to feel the cool water on her skin. 

When Christen emerged with her swimsuit on, Tobin spotted her standing towards the edge of the boat, contemplating whether to get in. Tobin swam over to the edge of the boat.

“Whatcha waiting for?” Tobin asked with a smile, looking up at Christen. “It’s warm, jump in.”

Christen stood there for a moment with a hesitant look on her face. “I’m a little scared of sea creatures.” She admitted to Tobin, who was treading water just below her.

“Well, I promise I’ll protect you.” Tobin offered gallantly. 

“You better.” Christen quipped. Normally, she'd prefer to just suntan in the boat.  _ I’m saying yes to things,  _ Christen reminded herself silently.

Christen slowly dropped her towel, revealing her body that was covered by a cute but modest bikini. Tobin let her eyes roam over Christen’s body. She felt like she was going to drown. Christen’s strong thighs were perfectly tanned, leading up to what Tobin would swear was the most perfect ass she has ever seen. She wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that she was staring.

Christen watched Tobin’s eyes, waiting for them to meet hers. “You okay there?” She blushed through a laugh. 

Before Tobin answered, she dunked herself totally underwater, trying to cool down. She came back up and gave Christen another smile. “Yep, I’m great. You are also great.. Look great, I mean. We’re great.” she stammered out. 

Christen didn’t know what to say, so she just took a step back before gently launching herself off the boat, landing in the water with a small splash. Tobin laughed when Christen surfaced, swimming over to her to make sure she as okay.

“See, nice right?” Tobin asked Christen.

The drastic change in temperatures took Christen’s breath away for a moment. She reached an arm out to Tobin without replying to her question, asking Tobin to pull her in. Tobin grabbed Christen’s hand and kicked her legs a little, so they were right in front of each other. Tobin smiled without saying anything, before she pulled Christen a little closer, sliding one arm around Christen’s waist, hugging her close.

Christen put one hand on Tobin’s shoulder, their heads next to each other, as she caught her breath and her bearings in the water. Their body’s were basically flush together, only a few inches of water in between them. Tobin held on tightly, taking on Christen’s weight. Her body was buzzing by the proximity of the beautiful woman holding onto her. 

“You okay?” Tobin asked seriously in a quiet tone, pulling her head back so she could see Christen’s face. 

“Yea.” Christen answered as she cleared the water out of her eyes, hanging on for another moment before she dropped her hand and let go Tobin, starting to tread water on her own. Tobin missed the contact immediately. 

Christen got acquainted with the water quickly, swimming and splashing around with Tobin and the rest of their family. Over the course of the afternoon, Christen ended up going snorkeling with Tobin’s sisters, while Tobin and her brother climbed up some of the rock cliffs nearby, jumping off over and over. They all had a blast. The cool temperature of the water felt perfect in the hot sun. 

Finally the captain told them it was time to pick up the anchor and continue sailing, as dinner was almost ready. The group climbed out and dried off, Christen tossing her tank top back on over her suit but letting herself dry off before putting her shorts back on. 

As they set sail again, they ate fresh pasta marinara and drank fancy white wine, passing sea caves sprinkled along the cliffs, the captain dutifully pointing them out as they went.

The afternoon and evening passed in an instant, and before anyone realized, the sun was going down as they made their way back to the island, thanking the captain as he dropped them off at the pier. 

The group gathered their things, making the short walk back to where the ferry was boarding, everyone a little quieter now, worn out from their activities.

On the ferry ride back to the mainland, Tobin and Christen sat down in a row of seats across from Tobin’s parents. Jeff and Cindy were interested in getting to know Christen a little better after spending the day together.

“So, Christen, let’s hear about you.” Jeff mused kindly. “Tobin told us you’re here for work?” 

“Yea I am.” Christen nodded with a smile. She proceeded to tell them about UNICEF and what type of work she was doing in Rome, and what she usually did for her job. 

“That’s really interesting.” Cindy smiled with meaning after Christen finished. “So did you grow up in LA then, or do you just live there now?” 

“Born and raised.” Christen answered. “I went to college in the Bay Area, so I lived there for four years, but I moved back after I graduated.”

“I love the Bay Area.” Jeff smiled. “What school, Cal?” 

“Ah, Stanford actually.” Christen said proudly. 

“Oh, we know a couple people who went to Stanford. Sure is a great school.” Cindy smiled again. “Smart and beautiful, look out for this one.”

Tobin elbowed Christen lightly next to her, trying to say  _ I told you so. _

Christen laughed and shook her head, trying to accept how nice Tobin’s parents were being.

Jeff noticed Christen’s blush, deciding to playfully add a little fuel to the fire. 

“Well you seem like you’ve got a lot going for you. No wonder Tobin has such a big crush on you already.” He laughed.

“ _ Dad.. _ ” Tobin laughed, trying not to groan. She put her hands up in defense before just accepting it with a shrug.  _ I guess it’s not worth denying. _

Christen’s face was on fire now. She looked at her hands for another moment, before slowly looking to her left and making quick eye contact with Tobin. They gave each other a shy smile and then looked away again.

Jeff and Cindy let them be after that, getting up to see where the rest of their kids had wandered off to, rounding everyone up as the ferry was docking. 

The group finally got off the ferry and climbed into the shuttle van to head back to the hotel. Tobin and Christen moved all the way to the back, taking the last row together. As they drove, Tobin turned her body to lean against the window at an angle, making room so Christen could lean against her. They were both drained from being out in the sun all day; by now they’d been gone for almost 12 hours. 

There wasn’t much of a conversation at all, but they enjoyed being close to each other. Christen relaxed, and was about to drift off to sleep with her arm resting on Tobin’s leg, when she felt Tobin’s right hand slide into her palm, linking their fingers together softly. Christen turned her head to look up at Tobin, who just smiled down at the girl below her. Christen gave her hand one gentle squeeze and then shut her eyes again, content and happy with their fingers intertwined.

When the van arrived back at the hotel, Tobin gently shook Christen, waking her up so they could grab their stuff and head inside. 

Christen waited for Jeff and Cindy in the lobby. When she saw them walk through the automatic doors, she made sure to thank them profusely. 

“I had the best day, thank you so much for letting me tag along.” Christen said with an authentic smile. 

“Oh dear, you’re more than welcome. We loved having you with us.” Cindy said, giving Christen a friendly side hug. 

Jeff smiled at his wife and Christen. “Definitely don’t be a stranger the rest of your stay. Let’s do dinner again.”

“Okay, but it’s on me. You guys are too generous.” Christen agreed. 

“Ahh Christen, when you’re old like us, you can buy things for your kids and their friends. It’s just how it works.” Jeff laughed. He wasn’t going to let Christen buy them dinner. 

Cindy agreed with a smile. “We’re heading to bed, good night ladies” Both Jeff and Cindy waved at Christen and Tobin, before making their way out of the lobby.

Christen and Tobin stood there quietly for a moment, watching them disappear onto the elevator.

“So, bedtime for you too, I’m guessing?” Tobin turned to Christen, standing close to her.

“Yea, I probably should.” She answered as she check the time on her phone. There was almost a little bit of dejection in her tone.

Tobin nodded with a disappointed smile, wishing the day hadn’t gone by go quickly.

They headed for the elevator, something that was becoming a nightly routine of theirs.

When they landed on the 7th floor, Christen hesitated a bit, wanting more of a goodbye. Tobin had her hands full of things from their day trip. “I’ll walk you to your room.”

They slowly moseyed down the hall towards Tobin’s room, trying their hardest to extend the night. It was the same hallway they had walked a couple days ago after just meeting. That felt like a world away now. 

Stopping in front of Tobin’s door, Christen laughed as Tobin dug for her room key. Finally she got the door open and dropped everything inside, freeing up her hands. She turned back to Christen as they both looked at each other earnestly. 

“Tobin, today was really great.” Christen spoke first. 

They were standing right in front of each other, speaking softly like they didn’t want the rest of the world to hear, even though nobody else was in the hallway. 

Tobin smiled at Christen, taking another half step closer to her. “Yea, it was a pretty perfect day.”

Christen looked down, reaching out and slowly linking her hand with Tobin’s again. She played with Tobin’s fingers for a moment, loving the way they seemingly fit perfectly in her own.  Tobin looked from their hands back up into Christen’s eyes, trying to read what she was thinking.

“Can I see you tomorrow?” Christen asked after a moment of silence.

“I’m hoping so.” Tobin grinned, swinging their hands a tiny bit. “How late will you be?”

“I think we should be done by 5 or 6, depending on how our meetings go.” Christen answered, a little unsure. 

“Okay, we'll figure something out.” Tobin nodded confidently. 

“K.” Christen replied quietly, stepping forward to close the remaining distance between their bodies. 

Tobin brought her free hand up and gently placed it on Christen’s hip, pulling her even closer, looking from her eyes to her lips for a moment. Christen swallowed a little, pushing down her nerves.

Christen lifted her head the smallest bit, silently giving Tobin the approval she was looking for, their eyes locked on each others. Tobin tilted her head slightly and leaned in, giving in to what they both clearly wanted.

Just as their lips brushed against each others, the room door next to them swung open. Perry and Taylor came walking out, caught up in a conversation. Tobin and Christen were jolted out of their moment, taking a half step back from each other. 

Perry noticed them standing there after a second, suddenly interested in what was happening. “Oh.. hey guys.” She smiled, looking at Tobin with a look of suspicion. 

“Hey.” Tobin replied, clearly annoyed that their almost-kiss was just ruined. 

Christen took another step back and fixed her backpack a little, before motioning for the elevator. “Alright, well I’m heading to bed.” 

“Bye Christen, today was fun!” Perry smiled.

“Yea, I had a great time.” Christen agreed. “Enjoy the rest of your night.”

Tobin and Christen locked eyes one last time, Christen winked with a smile and turned around, walking down the hall.

Tobin leaned against the doorframe and watched as she went, running her hand through her hair, thinking of what just could've been. “Night Chris.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? .. Feelings? 
> 
> I'm pretty busy with work this week, so I'm sorry if I can't update again before the weekend. I'll try my hardest.
> 
> Thanks for reading ya'll.


	4. Wednesday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter just kind of flowed out of me so here you go..

Tobin slept in on Wednesday morning. She had been more exhausted than she realized from their trip the day before. Last night she found herself falling asleep thinking of the way Christen’s hand had felt in hers, and how great their day had been. She was feeling lighter than she’d felt in a long time.  
  
She stretched her limbs out slowly, feeling her leg muscles contract as she let out a loud sigh. She sat up and grabbed her phone to check the time. _10:33 am_. Normally she’d feel a little guilty about sleeping late on vacation, afraid she was missing out on something important, but today she just let herself enjoy it.  
  
Two texts were waiting for her, from her new favorite green-eyed girl. She read them quickly.  
  
{Christen}: ** _How many coffees is too many coffees?_**  
{Christen}: **_Asking for myself._**  
  
Tobin laughed at the messages. She felt a little bad, knowing Christen was probably really tired this morning.  
  
{Tobin Heath}: ** _Were you a little sleepy today?_**  
  
She put her phone down and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She had another message from Christen when she checked a few minutes later.  
  
{Christen}: _**You could say that.. I sent that like 4 hours ago.. Don’t tell me you just got up.**_  
  
{Tobin Heath}: ** _Well, I don’t wanna lie to you…_**  
  
{Christen}: _ **Must be nice.**_  
{Christen}: **_Kidding, glad you slept well. Gotta go, walking into another meeting._**  
  
{Tobin Heath}: ** _Have fun. Let me know when you’ll be done, I’ll figure out something for us to do, if you’re still up for it?_ **  
  
Tobin’s text went unanswered, which she figured would happen. She started to think of some things to do in the meantime, making a mental note to ask her mom for ideas; Cindy had done a ton of research before their trip.  
  
Tobin spent the rest of the morning going for a run along the Tiber River. She had preseason camp coming up, so she wanted to make sure she stayed fit while on vacation. The River ran along the East bank of the city, just a few blocks from their hotel. She found herself crossing arching bridges and high stone embankments, soaking up the historical beauty. She ended up running further than she needed to, just for the thrill of it.  
  
She finished her run as it was nearing lunch time, so she quickly showered before grabbing lunch with her sisters at the hotel restaurant. After they ate, they decided as a group that it would be fun to do a bike tour around the city for the afternoon. There was a bike rental shop not far from the hotel that they walked to and got all set up.  
  
Tobin loved every second of the afternoon. She had no idea that Rome was basically a bunch of little cities stuck together. All the neighborhoods had a feel and charm to them that were different than the next. They spent most of the time off the beaten path, biking quiet, mostly pedestrian roads, seeing the city from less touristy perspective.  
  
They returned their bikes as dinner time approached. Jeff and Cindy had made reservations at a local restaurant that was recommended by the hotel concierge. Perry and Taylor decided to do their own thing but the rest of the family was going to join them for dinner. Tobin was unsure of what to do. She had checked her phone every so often when they would make a stop on their bikes, but she still hadn’t gotten a reply from Christen on when she would be done with work.  
  
She didn’t wanna bother her while she was still in meetings, but Tobin was getting antsy. She had missed Christen today, and wished she would have been able to join them for their afternoon out. Tobin also didn’t know whether she should just get dinner with her family or wait for Christen, but she was hoping they could do something, just the two of them.  
  
Finally around 7:30, Tobin heard her phone buzz.  
  
{Christen}: **_So sorry. Today has been crazy! We just got done_**.  
  
Tobin relaxed a bit as she read it.  
  
{Tobin Heath}: **_Don’t be sorry. How’d it go?_**  
  
{Christen}: ** _Really well actually, we got enough finished that I get tomorrow off!_**  
  
{Tobin Heath}: **_That’s great. I’m glad you’re done._**  
  
{Christen}: ** _Yea me too. I hope you weren’t waiting around for me._**  
  
Tobin laughed. _Should I tell her I was?_  
  
{Tobin Heath}: **_I kinda was, but only because I wanted to be._**  
{Tobin Heath}: ** _Can I take you to dinner?_**  
  
Christen’s stomach fluttered as she read Tobin’s texts. Unable to keep from smiling. She was excited to see Tobin, but the last thing she wanted to do tonight was go sit at a restaurant and not be able to relax. And as much as she wanted to explore more of Rome, she was tired from another long day. She had another idea in mind.  
  
{Christen}: **_Would you hate it if we just ordered room service and hung out in my room?_ **  
  
Tobin thought it over for a minute. That would mean alone time with Christen, with nobody to interrupt them. Which she was definitely in favor of.  
  
{Tobin Heath}: **_That actually sounds perfect. Let me know when you want me to come up?_**  
  
{Christen}: **_Be there soon._**  
  
When Christen got back to her room, she quickly changed out of her work clothes and put on a white v-neck t shirt and a pair of gray cotton shorts and threw her hair up in a bun. She let Tobin know she was back and it didn’t take long before the brown eyed girl was knocking on her door.  
  
Christen opened the door for Tobin, a smile instantly taking over both of their faces. Christen felt that flutter in her stomach again.  
  
“Hey you.” Christen stepped back so Tobin could come in.  
  
“Hi.” Tobin grinned, reaching out and pulling Christen in.  
  
The door shut as they held onto each other. Longer than a friendly hug would last. Christen buried her face into Tobin’s shoulder for a moment, breathing in her calming scent. Before they broke apart, Tobin placed a kiss to the side of Christen’s head.  
  
“How was your day?” Christen asked as they walked over towards the bed.  
  
Tobin went around the other side and climbed on top of the covers, resting against the headboard. Christen just slowly crawled to the center, sitting on her knees for a moment.  
  
“My day was good. I went for a run and then we biked around the city.” Tobin smiled. “I missed you though.”  
  
Christen blushed a little. “You did?”  
  
“Yeah.” Tobin returned truthfully.  
  
She was looking up at Christen, who was kneeling in front of her. Tobin let her eyes roam over Christen, taking in her beauty again. For something as simple as a t shirt and shorts, Tobin couldn’t get over how sexy Christen looked. She was dying to run her lips along Christen’s neck, exposed by the low cut of her t shirt.  
  
Christen giggled lightly at Tobin and her inability to be subtle. Tobin didn’t even care, still feeling high from their _almost_ kiss last night.  
  
“Stop..” Christen smiled playfully. She felt herself squirming under Tobin’s gaze, feeling a little shy.  
  
“You’re so hot.” Tobin laughed. “I can’t help it.”  
  
“Well.. so are you.” Christen conceded. It was the first time she was actually admitting it out loud.  
  
Tobin was wearing a black tank top, her tan and muscular arms exposed at Christen’s mercy. Her wavy brown hair was down and pulled over her shoulder, looking cool and alluring like she had the first time Christen had met her.  
  
They both took a deep breath as Christen looked away.  
  
“So..” Christen said, crawling towards the nightstand to grab the room service menu. “How about we order some food?”  
  
They both took a few minutes to decide what they were going to order. Christen mentioned that she was going to get a garden salad and Tobin stopped her right there.  
  
“Christen. The number one rule of room service is no salads.” Tobin laughed as she tried to explain.  
  
“What, why? I happen to like salads.” Christen defended her choice.  
  
“You’re totally doing room service the wrong way.” Tobin shook her head. “Do you eat meat?” She figured she should make sure.  
  
“Yea.”  
  
“K good, because room service is for burgers. It’s the like the ultimate lazy place where you should totally indulge.” Tobin insisted. She handed the menu back to Christen.  
  
“You want us to eat burgers while we are in Italy? Do they even have those?” Christen questioned. “Shouldn’t we be enjoying the local cuisine?”  
  
“For every other meal, yes.” Tobin smiled. “Room service means burgers, and yea I’ve tried one here, they're good.”  
  
“Fine.” Christen laughed. Tobin seemed pretty set on it.  
  
“I would recommend the Hawaiian burger.” Tobin smiled like she was a pro at this.  
  
“Ew, pineapple?” Christen made a face as she read the Hawaiian burger description.  
  
“Oh my gosh, you don’t like pineapple?” Tobin thought she might actually be offended.  
  
“No, I do. Just not warm or on any type of dinner dish.” Christen reasoned.  
  
“Wow. You’re totally missing out.” Tobin teased.  
  
Christen finally decided on a cheese burger with fresh tomatoes, avocado and lettuce; and of course Tobin got the Hawaiian burger. Christen called their orders down to the front desk, telling them to bill the room.  
  
They leaned against the headboard as they ate, sitting close enough that their legs were brushing up against each others. Christen told Tobin about the last two sponsorship agreements they secured at work today, meaning the group had reached their financial budget goal, and thus got the day off tomorrow. Tobin told Christen about her bike adventure, showing Christen some of her favorite pictures she’d taken.  
  
Tobin had finished the first half of her burger and was still raving about it. “Seriously, it’s so good.” She spoke through a mouthful. Christen watched her, entertained.  
  
Tobin then turned towards Christen. “Try this, please?”  
  
“No way.” Christen put her hand up.  
  
“Chris, come on. One bite.” Tobin begged. She gave Christen her best puppy dog eyes.  
  
Christen sighed. “Fine, if it matters that much to you.”  
  
Tobin smiled as she fed Christen a bite, watching her face for a reaction. Tobin was still holding the burger as she waited for Christen’s thoughts.  
  
“So?” Tobin waited.  
  
Christen just started to laugh. Buying her time as she swallowed.  
  
“Eh…” She responded to Tobin after a moment, not making eye contact.  
  
“Oh my god. You like it don’t you?” Tobin prodded in an amused tone.  
  
“Nope.” Christen laughed again.  
  
“You totally do. Look me in the eye.” Tobin grabbed Christen’s thigh, squeezing lightly. She was not giving up.  
  
Christen’s face went red, she was laughing so hard as Tobin was tickling her bare leg. “Ok, ok..”  
  
“Ok what?” Tobin asked through her own laughter.  
  
“Okay, it’s really good..” Christen whispered through another giggle.  
  
“Ha. I knew it.” Tobin poked her shoulder playfully in triumph. “Sorry, you’re not getting another bite.”  
  
They kept eating, trying to stop laughing. A few minutes later, after Tobin got done telling her about Jeff almost falling off his bike, Christen cut in.  
  
“Tobin..” She said, giving her the cutest smile she could muster.  
  
“Yea?”  
  
“Can I have another bite?” She said through a laugh again.  
  
Tobin laughed a deep belly laugh as she shook her head, pretending to be annoyed but really she was loving it. “You’re so cute.”  
  
She would give anything to see that smile all the time, holding up her burger for Christen to take another bite.  
  
After they finished eating, Tobin put their plates in the hallway and settled back into bed next to Christen. They spent the whole night talking, immersed in random conversation. They didn’t even pause for a moment to think about turning on the tv, so caught up in learning each other.  
  
They would just go back and forth, asking each other random questions.  
  
“What’s your full name?” Tobin asked, remembering that she didn’t even know Christen’s last name.  
  
“Christen Annemarie Press.” She answered.  
  
“Christen Press.” Tobin said it out loud, loving the feeling of it on her tongue. “That fits you.”  
  
Christen laughed. “Well good, it’s been my name my whole life.”  
  
Christen was entranced in Tobin’s smile and the way her brown eyes would crinkle every time she laughed. She also found herself unable to stop checking out Tobin’s arms and hands, knowing how strong they were. Every so often, she would reach out and run a hand up Tobin’s forearm or bicep. She felt the fire low in her stomach every time at just the thought of them.  
  
Later they got to more factual topics.  
  
“When’s your birthday?” Christen asked.  
  
“May 29th. What about you?”  
  
“December 29th.”  
  
“Huh, so we’re exactly 7 months apart.” Tobin was entertained by that little fact. “Cool.”  
  
After a while, Christen wanted to dive a little deeper. She knew Tobin played soccer, but didn’t really know to what extent.  
  
“So you’re from Jersey, but you live in Portland, and that’s where you play soccer?” Christen asked.  
  
“Yep. At least for most of the year.” Tobin nodded.  
  
“And what do you do when you’re not in season?”  
  
“Well, it’s kind of always the season for me. At least with the National Team.” Tobin explained. She hadn’t yet mentioned this part of her profession yet.  
  
“The National Team?.. You mean like Team USA?” Christen was surprised.  
  
“Yep.” Tobin laughed. “That’s us.”  
  
“Oh my gosh, Tobin. That’s huge! Why didn’t you tell me that? Christen swatted Tobin’s arm lightly.  
  
“Well, it’s kind of a weird thing to just say _hey I played for USA in the Olympics_ without being asked.” Tobin defended.  
  
“No it’s not, it’s amazing.” Christen stated. “Actually, now that I think of it, I remember I went to college with someone who played soccer for Team USA. I’m not sure if she still does or not.”  
  
“Who?” Tobin asked surprised.  
  
“Her name is Kelley. I had some classes with her at Stanford.” Christen looked at Tobin.  
  
Tobin’s mouth dropped. “No way.”  
  
“Yea, we would study together sometimes.”Christen continued.  
  
“Kelley O’Hara?” Tobin wanted to make sure.  
  
“Yes! Do you know her?” Christen asked excitedly.  
  
“Ah yea, she’s been one of my best friends since we were like, 14!” Tobin couldn’t believe it.  
  
 “Oh my gosh. Really?” Christen laughed. “I haven’t seen her since college. I guess I should have stayed in touch. She is fun.”  
  
“Wow, what a small world.” Tobin said in amazement, still not believing they had that common connection. “I can’t wait to ask her about what College Christen was like.”  
  
Tobin caught Christen up on all of Kelley’s recent antics. She told some stories about the trouble they’d get in when they were on the Youth National Teams together and how amazing it was to win the World Cup together.  
  
Christen hadn’t laughed that hard in a long time, listening intently as Tobin talked. She felt so comfortable with Tobin already. The longer they talked and the more they learned about each other, the more they continued to fall for each other.  
  
Tobin had something else on her mind she that she had wanted to ask Christen. She figured with them covering so many topics already, it would be okay to go for it.  
  
“Can I ask you a more personal question?” Tobin mused, looking at Christen with soft eyes.  
  
“Okay, sure.” Christen agreed. She really was willing to tell Tobin just about anything tonight.  
  
“The other night, when you got that call from your ex..” Tobin paused, waiting to see if Christen was going to object. When she didn’t, Tobin continued. “Is that a recent thing? Him being your ex, I mean.”  
  
Christen rested her head back on the pillow for a moment, thinking over how she wanted to answer.  
  
“Fairly, recent. Yea.” She nodded, turning her head to look at Tobin again. “We broke up in March, so I guess like.. 3 months ago now.” Christen did the quick math in her head.  
  
Tobin just nodded. She wasn’t sure if Christen would say anything else about it, or if she even wanted to. They just looked at each other for a moment.  
  
Christen decided Tobin deserved more of an answer than that. She took a deep breath for a moment. “It hasn’t really ended that well..”  
  
“I kinda had a feeling, after seeing your reaction to his call the other night.” Tobin replied.  
  
Christen just nodded.  
  
“Wanna tell me about it?” Tobin asked gently after some more silence.  
  
“It’s probably not what you think.” Christen said, sitting up a bit, preparing herself to get into the story.  
  
Tobin just laid there quietly, giving Christen the time she needed.  
  
“So, we were together for four years, Ryan and I. We met after college through mutual friends, and we had a lot in common right away.” Christen started. “He really was, is, a great guy. Probably everything most girls would want in a boyfriend.”  
  
Tobin was listening intently.  
  
“He’s smart and good looking and has a great job; and he treated me really well.” Christen shrugged. “So it was easy to just get comfortable with him. He was basically like my best friend.”  
  
Tobin was a little confused. “Hmm, so what went wrong then?”  
  
“That’s the thing, nothing..” Christen trailed off. “I don’t know, but there was always this little nagging feeling in me that I couldn’t place. I never had like that urge to take the next step with him.”  
  
Christen paused again in thought.  “All our friends would constantly ask us when we were gonna get engaged and stuff, and I never really had the answer. It was like I couldn’t picture it with us, and I never knew why.”  
  
Tobin sat up a little, readjusting her position as Christen continued.

“So I was at his house one day, I’d gotten there before him and was looking for a warmer pair of socks to steal from his dresser. I was digging around and I found a ring box.”  
  
Christen smiled a little in thought, looking at Tobin to make sure she was still interested.  
  
“Uh oh.” Tobin smiled back. “Did you look at it?”  
  
“Yea, I looked. I couldn't help it.” Christen laughed a tiny bit. “It was a pretty ring. Maybe not my style completely, but it was big and nice.”  
  
Tobin shook her head, sarcastically shaming Christen for looking. Christen playfully rolled her eyes at Tobin.  
  
“I’m not gonna lie, it freaked me out.. So I put it back, obviously, and I didn’t mention anything to him about it.”  
  
“Oh..” Tobin spoke to let Christen know she was listening.  
  
Christen continued. “And then the next day, I was babysitting my little cousin.”  
  
Christen paused, looking at Tobin with a smile. “And this part is gonna sound dumb..”  
  
“I doubt it.” Tobin encouraged her.  
  
“So anyway, my little cousin was watching It Takes Two - do you know that movie?” Christen asked.  
  
“Yea, Mary-Kate and Ashley, right?” Tobin nodded with a chuckle, knowing the movie.  
  
“Right. So during the movie, that scene where the little girl is talking about love? And she goes through this whole speech about what it should feel like, you know? _The can't-eat, can't-sleep, reach-for-the-stars, over- the-fence, World Series kind of stuff.._ ” Christen now had that line memorized by heart.  
  
Tobin laughed. “Yea.” She said excitedly. “I remember that scene. I actually loved that movie.”  
  
“I know! Classic.” Christen laughed a little. “Anyway, sorry..” Trying to stay on track.  
  
“It totally hit me all at once, as I was watching it.. That I didn’t feel that for him.” Christen smiled almost a little guiltily. “I was comfortable and it was easy. But I didn’t have those butterflies in my stomach every time I saw him. I don’t know.. I loved him as a person, but I wasn’t in love with him.”  
  
Tobin nodded, knowing exactly what Christen meant. “That’s not dumb, Christen.”  
  
“So, that night after I got done babysitting, I went over to his house for dinner and I tried to explain to him the way I felt. And after talking for like six hours, I ended up breaking up with him. It was a rough night.”  
  
Christen got a little quieter again. “I just all of the sudden couldn’t wait any longer, knowing he was probably going to propose soon. It wasn’t fair to him.”  
  
Tobin reached out and linked two fingers with Christen’s, trying to comfort her a little.  
  
“He was pretty blindsided, to say the least.” Christen said after taking a deep breath. “He tried to talk me out of it. He still does try, I guess..”  
  
“So that’s why he was calling the other night?” Tobin questioned.  
  
“Yea, he calls sometimes when he gets upset. I never know if he’s going to be mad or sad. So, sometimes I answer, but sometimes I don’t.” Christen scooted a little closer to Tobin, feeling the warmth from their hands.  
  
“And most of my friends, or the ones who I spent a lot of my time with anyway, were our mutual friends. So now they’re all mad at me, and taking his side.” Christen continued to explain the whole gist of it. “They kind of just act like I’m a bad person for hurting him, which I guess maybe I am.”  
  
“Chris, no you’re not.” Tobin stopped Christen’s words immediately, inching closer to where she was lying, their bodies touching again.  
  
Christen was soothed by the contact. “I know he’s hurting, and I hate that it’s my fault.. But I just couldn’t stay, knowing I’d never be completely happy.”  
  
“I think that’s really brave actually.” Tobin said, so sure of her words. “Most people are never strong enough to walk away from a comfortable situation.”  
  
“Thanks..” Christen trailed off. “It’s something that happened, something that I think about a lot. I feel bad. But I can tell I’m happier now, doing things on my own terms.”  
  
Tobin could tell she had shared all she wanted to at the moment. Christen took one last deep breath, rolling over so she was facing Tobin, both of them now on their sides, barely an inch apart.  
  
“Anyway, I didn’t mean to drag the mood down.” Christen smiled a little, adjusting their hands so they were intertwined a little more firmly. “What about you?”  
  
“What do you wanna know?” Tobin smiled, willing to offer up anything.  
  
“When was your last relationship?” Christen questioned with a grin.  
  
“Ah a couple years ago, actually. When I was living in Paris.” Tobin laughed lightly. “Nothing sad at all. It was fun while it lasted; we were together for a couple years, but when I moved back to the States, it just wasn’t worth the long distance.”  
  
“That’s good I guess?” Christen said with a lighter tone already.  
  
“Yea, we are still friendly with each other.. It had run it’s course. And I’ve just kind of dated casually since. Traveling so much makes it hard.” Tobin admitted.  
  
“I bet.” Christen agreed.  
  
“And to be honest, I hadn’t really found anyone worth falling for.” Tobin looked up a Christen again.  
  
“Oh.” Christen went quiet at Tobin’s words.  
  
Tobin let go of Christen’s hand for a moment, bringing her hand up to move the hair out of Christen’s eyes that had fallen to her face.  
  
“But now..” Tobin trailed off, letting her hand slowly move down to Christen’s jaw, lightly tracing the outline, down to her neck.  
  
“Hmmm.” Christen just hummed at the contact, holding eye contact with Tobin. She wanted to know what she meant, but wasn’t going to ask.  
  
Tobin let the silence linger for a moment as they smiled at each other, before she spoke quietly again.  
  
“But now you showed up..” Tobin bit her lip.  “And It’s like you walked into my life outta nowhere and just woke me up.”  
  
Christen laughed lightly. “ _Surprise._ ”  
  
“Yea, I’d say so.” Tobin agreed, returning the laugh.  
  
Tobin traced her fingers back up Christen’s jaw, before cupping her cheek with her palm.  
  
“Chris…” Tobin whispered, looking from her lips to her eyes.  
  
“Yea…” Christen whispered back, steadying herself. Knowing what Tobin was asking.  
  
Tobin smiled again, slowly leaning in. She pulled Christen’s face in, connecting their lips softly. For a second, neither of them moved an inch.  
  
Tobin felt Christen exhale at the contact, getting all the confidence she needed, moving her lips to actually kiss the gorgeous woman lying next to her for the first time. Christen returned the kiss instantly, slotting her lips between Tobin’s, both of them going slow, getting used to each other.  
  
It maybe lasted ten seconds, before they both pulled back a little, looking into each others eyes as they laughed quietly. Christen then leaned back in and placed two more soft kisses to Tobin’s lips, before dropping her head to the mattress with a sigh.  
  
“See... “ Christen spoke after a second, pulling her eyes up to Tobin’s face. “Now those are butterflies.”  
  
Tobin moved her hand so it was back on Christen’s hip, running up and down her side a few times.  
  
“Yea.” Tobin just agreed with a shaky grin. She felt like she was going to explode with how great that felt.  
  
Christen turned a little so her back was flat on the mattress as Tobin re-situated so she was leaning up on her elbow, looking down at Christen who was laying under her now. Tobin’s hand moved across Christen’s stomach playfully.  
  
“You sure are _something_..” Christen mused out loud.  
  
Christen brought her hand up around Tobin’s neck, pulling her back in. They smiled at each other, holding eye contact as Tobin was leaning back in. Christen let out a quiet giggle and lifted her head, closing the distance again.  
  
This time the kiss lasted a lot longer. Tobin started mellow, trying to memorize the way Christen’s lips felt against hers, feeling like they were moving in perfect rhythm, until she got a little restless. It wasn’t long before Tobin was running her tongue along Christen’s bottom lip. Christen responded quickly, parting her lips and welcoming Tobin’s tongue with her own.  
  
They would take turns slotting their tongue into each others mouths, exploring the way they wanted to. Neither of them being selfish. After a bit, neither of them could breathe very well. Christen broke the kiss with a smile, knowing Tobin probably also wanted a moment to catch her breath.  
  
Tobin lifted her head a tiny bit, just away from Christen’s lips, but didn’t adjust her body position as they both steadied themselves again.  
  
“Woah.” Christen was buzzing.  
  
“I know.” Tobin laughed in agreement. They both were pretty amazed at how _right_ it felt to kiss each other.  
  
Christen assumed that Tobin’s arm was probably getting tired of supporting her weight, so she wrapped both arms around Tobin’s strong back and pulled her down into a hug. Tobin ended up half on top of her. They just held each other for a bit, not speaking. Tobin could feel her heart beating wildly against Christen.  
  
Finally Tobin felt Christen’s deep intake of air through a yawn. It was late now and she’d been up and busy all day. Tobin pushed herself back up on her forearms to look at Christen again.  
  
She dropped a kiss to Christen’s lips before she spoke.“You need sleep.” And then another one.  
  
Christen smiled, returning the kisses. She then lifted her head a little off the pillow, kissing Tobin’s jaw and cheek. “I don’t wanna yet.”  
  
“I know, me either.” Tobin agreed as she let Christen kiss her.  
  
“Stay with me tonight.” Christen asked, letting her head drop back to the pillow again. “We can just sleep.. and maybe kiss some more..” She trailed off with a wicked grin. “But I don’t want you to go.”  
  
“Are you sure?” Tobin asked, not wanting to overwhelm Christen.  
  
“Definitely. If you want to.” Christen answered honestly.  
  
“Yea, I want to.” Tobin said with a smile. She kissed Christen again. “How about I run down to my room to brush my teeth and change and I’ll come back up?”  
  
“Yea, sounds good.”  
  
Tobin rolled over away from Christen finally, running a hand through her hair as she watched Christen sit up. Tobin made sure she was coherent enough to stand, before sliding off the bed slowly. Christen stood up too, straightening her shirt a bit.  
  
Tobin couldn’t help it, she couldn’t stay away from the dark haired beauty. Before she opened the room door, she walked over to Christen and grabbed her face lightly, kissing her again. “I’ll be right back.”  
  
“I’ll be here.” Christen answered against Tobin’s lips, pushing her back a little, silently telling her to go.  
  
Tobin got into the hallway and went for the stairwell. She bounded down the stairs in a hurry, feeling like she could run a marathon with how much energy she had. Christen had lit a fire inside of her tonight. She got to her room and launched herself onto her bed for a moment, laughing out loud to herself. _God I’m so into her._    
  
She collected herself after a moment, changing into a pair of sleep shorts and a white t. She quickly brushed her teeth and washed her face, putting her hair into a half bun/pony combo. Somehow she still made it look great.  
  
Tobin took one last deep breath and exited her hotel room, climbing the stairwell again, slower this time. When she got back to Christen’s room, she noticed the door propped open by the deadbolt lock.  
  
Tobin peeked her head back inside, spotting Christen snuggled under the covers, scrolling through her phone.  
  
Christen noticed the door open and grinned again.“Hi.”  
  
“I’m back.” Tobin said a little obviously.  
  
Christen busted out laughing. “I see that.” She then tossed the covers back next to her, motion for Tobin to climb back into bed.  
  
Tobin padded over to the bed and crawled across Christen, kissing her lips slowly before falling into the mattress beside her. Christen put her phone on the nightstand and leaned up to shut off the light.  
  
She laid back down, turning her head towards Tobin as they looked at each other through the darkness.  
  
“Come here.” Tobin said in a muted tone.  
  
So Christen did, rolling over and falling into Tobin’s chest, her face finding a soft spot, buried in Tobin’s neck. Tobin traced soft patterns up and down Christen’s back as she drifted off into a blissful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one ended up being heavy on the dialog. Sorry if you're not into that.
> 
> I'm having a great time writing this for some reason. Let me know what you think!


	5. Thursday

Tobin woke up on Thursday morning revitalized and refreshed, feeling like she had just experienced the best night of sleep ever. Before she even opened her eyes she felt the warmth radiating between her and Christen. Tobin smiled in contentment as she inhaled, her face buried in the back of Christen’s neck. 

Sometime during the night, Christen had rolled over off of Tobin, but somehow they found their way back to each other, even as they were unconscious. Tobin had her arms wrapped tightly around Christen, holding her from behind. Tobin’s body hummed as she realized their position, and how natural it felt, like they’d done this a thousand times before.

Tobin lifted her head off the pillow to look at the clock, not wanting to move a muscle and accidentally wake Christen up. It was early, she could tell the sun was just coming up, barely peeking through the crack in the window shades. 

_ 6:28 am. _ Tobin plopped her head back down on the pillow, nuzzling a little farther into Christen. Christen stirred a tiny bit at the extra contact, mindlessly bringing her hand up to cover Tobin’s, where it was resting on her ribs. 

The brown eyed girl tried to shut her eyes and drift back to sleep, hoping Christen’s steady breathing could set a rhythm for her. After a few minutes, she realized she just wasn’t going to be able to surrender again. 

As Tobin laid there in the quiet room, she started to think of a good way for them to spend the day. She hadn’t asked Christen yet if she had made plans, but was hoping that if she came up with something fun, Christen wouldn’t tell her no.

She slowly slipped her arms out of Christen’s embrace and reached for her phone on the nightstand next to her. Cindy had emailed Tobin the list of recommendations that she’d created before they flew to Italy, and Tobin was hoping she could find something in there.

After scrolling through the list several times, googling just about every item listed, and checking transportation schedules, Tobin was set with a plan. Now she just had to get Christen to agree to it. 

She looked over at the woman sleeping next to her, in the same position she’d been in when Tobin woke up. Christen’s bun had become a little loose during the night, baby hairs sticking out around her forehead now as she slept. Her mouth was shut and she was breathing shallowly through her nose. Tobin could sense a look of contentment on Christen’s face, even in sleep.

Tobin weighed her options, trying to decide if she should wake Christen up or let her keep sleeping. It was only past 7 am now, but Tobin’s plan required a little leg work and some travel time, so she didn’t want to let it get too late. 

Tobin rolled back over so she was pressed up against Christen again, hoping the contact might stir her. She slipped her hand around Christen’s hip, running it slowly over her stomach and lacing their fingers together where Christen’s hand laid on the mattress. 

“Christen..” Tobin whispered as she kissed her neck softly.

There was no response from the dark haired woman, who was clearly still sound asleep.

She waited another moment, seeing if Christen would eventually wake at the contact.  

Tobin placed two more kisses on Christen’s neck, moving around towards her jaw. “Chris.” She said quietly again.

Christen made a soft groaning noise, burying her head a little farther into the pillow. Tobin smiled at how lovable she looked. After another moment of no movements, Tobin lifted herself up with her forearms, kneeling a little so she could angle herself around the front of Christen. She started to place soft kisses to her forehead, and then down to her cheek, and right at her ear. 

“Babe..” Tobin whispered right in Christen’s ear.

Christen’s eyes fluttered a tiny bit, before closing shut again. She rolled onto her back weakly, trying to squirm out from underneath Tobin.

Tobin started to laugh quietly, not letting her move far. She leaned in again and placed a kiss right to Christen’s lips. That helped do the trick. Christen couldn’t stand it any longer, letting a smile form, still not opening her eyes. 

Tobin saw her smile and laughed again while whispering. “I know you’re awake.”

“No.” Christen just whined quietly. 

_ God she is so cute. _ Tobin thought, waiting for Christen to move again. 

Tobin ran her hand gently over Christen’s forehead, pushing away the baby hairs. That contact finally got Christen to open her eyes.

“Seriously?” Christen slowly whispered out, trying to seem a little annoyed.

“What?” Tobin pretended to be innocent.

“I just wanna sleep in. I’m so sleepy.” Christen sighed. 

She rolled over onto her side, this time facing the side of the bed Tobin had been on. Christen gently pulled Tobin back down onto the mattress, snuggling into her again. Tobin laid there in silence again with Christen’s weight on her. And just like last night she could feel herself buzzing at the way Christen’s body felt on hers. 

After a minute, Christen spoke, obviously not asleep again. “You called me babe.”

“What?” Tobin asked, confused.

“Just a second ago, you called me babe.” Christen pointed out what Tobin had whispered, letting the older woman know she hadn’t been asleep.

Tobin didn’t even realize she had done it. She was just trying to wake Christen up in the nicest way possible.

“Oh.. yea, I guess I did..” Tobin trailed off. She didn’t know if it bothered Christen or not. “I didn’t mean to.”

Christen just smiled and opened her eyes again, looking at Tobin for the first time. 

Tobin didn’t know what to say, so she just dropped another kiss to Christen’s face, smiling down at her.

“Why are we awake?” Christen questioned through a yawn.

“Because I have a surprise.” Tobin smiled. “I mean, if you’ll spend the day with me?”

“Hmmm… I don’t know..” Christen replied sarcastically, flipping over so she was laying on her stomach. 

Tobin instinctually started to rub her back, slowly over her shirt at first, before dipping her hand under the hem of Christen’s white t-shirt, rubbing random patterns over her lower back. 

Christen quietly hummed at the contact, loving Tobin’s hands on her skin. 

“You mean you’re not sick of me yet?” Christen asked after a second.

Tobin shook her head. “I don’t even think that’s possible.” 

Tobin’s hand had moved around to Christen’s side, unknowingly finding the spot where Christen was most ticklish. Christen laughed a little, reaching back to grab Tobin’s hand and still it. 

“What’s the surprise?” Christen asked, finally turning back around to sit up, so they were facing each other. She looked at Tobin with skeptical eyes, trying to read the brown eyed girl in front of her. 

“You’ll just have to wait and find out.” Tobin smiled mischievously.

Christen wasn’t buying it. “How will I know if I want to go if you don’t tell me?”

“Well that’s half the fun.” Tobin slid her hand around the back of Christen’s neck, rubbing small circles with her thumb. “Don’t you trust me?”

“I apparently do..” Christen laughed, knowing it was unlike her to completely give into a person so quickly. “You’ve been getting me to say yes to everything so far.” 

“Good.” Tobin smiled. She leaned in and kissed Christen quickly. “Go shower. We have to leave here by 8.” 

Tobin then hopped off the bed and stretched, her shirt riding up so Christen could see the bottom of her toned stomach, before making her way to the door. “I’ll be back after I get ready.”

And just like that, she was out the door. Christen raised her hands in the air, silently asking what was happening to nobody. She grabbed her phone and checked her messages for a minute before getting up and heading to the shower. 

When Tobin came back, just before 8, she was dressed casually in a denim button down short-sleeved shirt and a pair of shorts and flip flops. She had her Ray-Bans on her head pushing her hair back once again.

Christen was about done getting ready, also dressing casually in a blue flowy top and dark shorts, drying the curls out of her hair so it was still slightly wavy. 

“Do I need anything besides my purse?” Christen questioned.

“Nope.” Tobin smiled, opening the room door again as Christen followed her out.

Christen and Tobin left the hotel and started walking towards the city center. They stopped at a small cafe, only a couple blocks up from their hotel, where Tobin bought them coffee and pastries for breakfast. Tobin made sure Christen was good with drinking their coffee while they walked, promising her that they would be able to sit down and enjoy their breakfast shortly.

Another fifteen minutes and they were entering the Termini station, which was bustling with commuters entering and exiting the city by train. 

Tobin stepped to the counter and purchased two train tickets for them, handing one to Christen as they were about to board a northbound train out of the Capital city. 

Christen read the ticket before stepping on the train.  _ Trenitalia - Orvieto via Rome. 8:44 am. _

She followed Tobin to a double seat, sitting down next to her with an intrigued look.

“Orvieto?” Christen read it to Tobin, her eyes lighting up.

“Yep.” Tobin smiled. She watched Christen for a moment, judging her reaction. 

“I’ve actually heard great things about it.” Christen said, referring to the day trips people often take to Orvieto.

“Well that’s a good thing.” Tobin said, handing Christen the bag of pastries they had just bought.

The two women sat in relative silence for a bit, enjoying their coffee and breakfast as the train pulled out of the station. The train ride was short, only about an hour into the Italian countryside, passing through rolling hills covered with vineyards and trees.

Christen was wide-eyed the whole time, leaning over Tobin to look out the window every so often. Tobin spent more time watching Christen smile at the scenery than she did actually looking at it herself, but both of them were happy.

When they made it to the tiny hillside town, they got off the train, and followed a few other people out of the station, trying to figure out where to go. Tobin had read that they needed to take the lift car up the hill, where the main part of the city sat  perched up on some volcanic rock.

They took the lift up the hill, exiting the the small car to gorgeous views of the surrounding valleys. It reminded Christen a lot of Tuscany, where she had visited while studying abroad in college. She was in love with it immediately. 

They walked towards the edge of the hill, looking off in the distance for a moment. “Let’s take a picture.” Christen requested. Tobin just nodded.

Christen walked a few feet to where another group was gazing, kindly asking them if they would take a picture of her and Tobin. Christen and Tobin wrapped their arms around each other, smiling widely for a couple photographs. 

When the lady handed her phone back, Christen looked at the pictures, grinning to herself. “Huh, we make an okay pair.” She held her phone up to show Tobin.

“Yea, I guess we do.” Tobin smiled, quickly kissing Christen’s cheek before walking off towards the city center. Christen blushed and jogged a couple steps to catch up. 

They followed a group of people up the main cobblestone street. Once they got to the city square, they were met with the most stunning Cathedral either one had ever seen. 

It had a colorful, 1300’s Gothic facade, divided by four pillars on the front, covered in stained glass, and sculptures. Christen’s jaw almost dropped at the magnificence of it.  

“Wow. That is gorgeous.” She said out loud without really realizing it. Tobin had come to a stop next to her, just as entranced in the Cathedral. 

“I’ve never seen anything like this in my life. And I thought Rome had amazing churches.” Tobin agreed.

As they got closer to the church, they really got a sense of the detail of it. There were carvings and designs lining the outside of it, something that had to have taken years and years to finish. They made their way inside, wanting to get as much information about it as possible. 

They learned that it took 300 years to complete the building of the church, and that it is considered the most beautiful church in Italy. Christen could not stop taking pictures. 

After they left the Cathedral, they made their way through town, looking for a place to grab some lunch. They settled on an authentic Italian restaurant where Tobin talked Christen into sharing a bottle of wine and plate of  pappardelle pasta with wild boar. Christen made a face as soon as Tobin read it off the menu, but the waitress swore it was the best thing on they had, so Christen gave in. It turned out to be amazing. 

After lunch, they wandered through town, in awe of the small, quaint feeling of it. The ancient cobblestone streets were more like tiny walking paths, barely able to fit a car through some of them. The houses were all old Italian style houses, mostly yellows and tans, with arching entryways and stone fronts. Tobin thought places like this only existed in the movies.    
  
They held hands as they walked, laughing and pointing things out to each other. Every so often, Christen would pull Tobin into an entryway out of prying eyes so they could kiss, wrapped up in only thoughts of each other.

Later in the afternoon, they decided to do an underground walking tour that the hostess at the restaurant had told them about.  They joined a small group and made their way through an extensive labyrinth of underground tunnels. 

Tobin wasn’t afraid of the dark, but she’d be lying if these tunnels didn’t creep her out a bit. They hung towards the back of the group, walking slowly through corridors and giant rooms only lit by small candle flames.

Tobin’s arms stayed wrapped around Christen most of the time. Christen loved the feeling of Tobin pressed up against her, hands intertwined as they walked. Every so often, Tobin would place a small kiss to Christen’s neck, sending shivers down her back at the intimacy of it. 

Tobin was relieved when the hour long tour ended, sighing happily as they made their way back out into the shining sun.

“That was cool but I’m glad it’s over.” She mentioned to Christen.

“I didn’t know if you were gonna make it for a while.” Christen joked. “You were hanging on for dear life.”

“Maybe I just like being close to you?” Tobin defended. 

Christen just shook her head and laughed. She wasn’t complaining. 

It had gotten late in the evening and they had train tickets booked for their return trip, so they needed to make their way back towards the train station soon. They grabbed some Gelato for their walk back, sharing bites with each other.

Christen got the window seat for the train ride back, as Tobin snuggled in close, leaving no room in between them. It had started to rain as the sun went down so there wasn’t much to look at, but Christen didn’t mind. She was tired and glad she had Tobin to lean on.

They had their legs propped up on the empty row of seats in front of them, not saying much to each other. Christen had been thinking over the rest of her stay in her head, planning the last couple of days when she got an idea.

“Do you have plans Saturday night?” Christen questioned as she made small trails up and down Tobin’s thigh with her fingertips.

“Nothing set, I don’t think.” Tobin answered quietly. 

Christen leaned her head up a little, looking at Tobin with a smile. “Totally feel free to say no, but I have that Gala on Saturday night..” 

“Yea, that’s right.” Tobin nodded, remembering Christen had mentioned it a few times. It was the whole reason she was in Italy in the first place.

“Would you want to go with me?” Christen asked, a little bit of hesitation in her voice, trying not to get her hopes up. “We all usually bring dates, my coworkers and I, I mean.”

Tobin looked at Christen silently for a moment, thinking it over in her head. Christen filled her in more on what it involved. “It’s a formal thing, black tie mostly. And we auction off things for charity and people speak about what UNICEF is doing and how citizens can help.”

“Sounds fancy.” Tobin guessed.

“Yea kinda. If it’s not your thing, I totally understand.” Christen felt like Tobin was saying no.

Tobin stopped her before she got disappointed. “I’d love to be your date.” She said with a big smile. “I’ll be the luckiest girl in the room.”

Christen beamed at Tobin, happy that she agreed. They fell silent again after a bit, Christen still running her fingers over Tobin’s thigh sweetly. The longer it went on, the more absentminded it became, and Christen’s fingers started to trace higher on Tobin’s leg with every pass.

Tobin was trying to keep her breathing neutral, but Christen’s movements were having more of an impact on her than she could handle. She felt like she was going to combust.

Finally when she couldn’t take anymore, Tobin reached down and grabbed Christen’s hand, sliding her fingers in between Christen’s and bring her hand up to her mouth, kissing it a couple times.

“You’re torturing me.” Tobin whispered into Christen’s ear. “And were not really in a place where I can do anything about it.” 

Christen smiled coyly at Tobin, her eyes a little apologetic. “Sorry.” They both just laughed.

When the train docked at the station, they got off and made their way back down to the main floor, deciding how to get back to their hotel. They could take a cab, but it was only a few blocks.

“Let’s just run back, it’s not far.” Christen suggested.

“We’ll get all wet.” Tobin looked at her a little bewildered.

“Then run fast.” Christen smiled, poking Tobin playfully. She had made up her mind and was feeling like she needed to run off some of these pent of feelings that had been buzzing within her all day. They stepped to the doors, looking out into the street for a moment. 

“Race ya.” Christen laughed, pushing the door open and bounding out of the train station. 

The rain was pouring down heavily now, creating puddles all over the pavement. There was hardly anyone out tonight, everyone seemingly taking cover from the downpour somewhere indoors. 

Tobin laughed as Christen got a couple steps ahead of her before she shoved the doors of the Tremini Station open as well, sprinting out into the night after the green eyed woman. 

Although they were both in sandals, they kept a steady pace. Christen looked both ways as she approached an upcoming intersection, slowing just slightly to make sure there were no cars coming, before continuing her sprint across the street. The slowing of her stride let Tobin catch up, as they were now running neck and neck with each other. 

Christen jumped up onto the curb, landing in a puddle and sending water flying all over the sidewalk, causing both of them to laugh. As they got down the block and approached the next intersection, they had to come to a stop, letting cars zoom through the green light. They stood there laughing at each other for a moment. Rain was dripping heavily off of both of them, causing Christen’s hair to turn curly. Tobin wanted to run her hands through it immediately. 

As the walk sign turned in their favor, Tobin reached out and grabbed Christen’s arm before she could take off again, spinning her around so they were face to face, standing on the corner of the street. 

Both women were slightly out of breath. Tobin had a grin on her face as she looked at Christen, her eyes darkening a little. 

Christen opened her mouth to say something, to ask why they were stopping in the middle of a downpour, when Tobin pulled her in, closing the distance between them quickly, finding Christen’s lips. 

Christen responded in kind, bringing her hand up behind Tobin’s neck to hold her close as they shared a passionate kiss, tongues battling for control. When they broke apart after a moment, they were both even more out of breath. 

Christen started to push Tobin back towards the building that was on the corner of the street, finding an awning to duck under. As soon as they were out of the rain, Tobin spun Christen around, pinning her against the brick wall of the building. Her eyes were completely hooded now, dark with want. Christen didn’t wait any longer before grabbing Tobin again and locking their lips. 

They stood under the awning as the rain continued to fall, both dripping with water, making out lustfully. Finally, when breathing was becoming too big of an issue to ignore, Tobin let up slightly, easing off of Christen just a tiny bit. Christen let her head fall back against the building, taking a deep breath.

“Holy shit.” Christen laughed after she caught her breath.

Tobin broke out laughing too. “Sorry. I couldn’t wait.” 

They stood there staring at each other, both of their eyes still filled with want. Tobin had her hands positioned on Christen’s hips, pulling her waist as close as possible, while Christen had her hands on Tobin’s neck.

Tobin leaned back in and placed a soft kiss to Christen’s lips, one with a different kind of meaning to it. When she pulled back, she rested her forehead against Christen’s, standing there silently again.

“Tobin.” Christen whispered in a yearning tone, not looking for a reply. 

Christen concentrated on Tobin, leaning into her. It felt so romantic and intimate, the way they were holding each other with their foreheads pressed together.

“I like you so much.” Christen continued as she tried to steady her breathing.

Tobin smiled a huge smile, dropping her face into Christen’s neck for a moment, before speaking as her voice was muffled against Christen.

“I really like you too. So much.” Tobin beamed, picking her head back up to look at Christen in the eyes. 

Tobin wanted to remember this moment forever, hoped it would be burned into her mind, the way Christen’s smile took over her face. Her white teeth shining under the dim lighting of the building awning. She would do anything to keep this feeling as long as she could. 

“Let’s go get you out of these wet clothes.” Tobin hummed after a moment, pulling on the bottom of Christen’s shirt lightly. A few water droplets popped off it as Tobin let it go.

Christen raised her eyebrows suggestively, letting Tobin’s words take on an extra meaning. Tobin laughed at what she was insinuating, unsure if that’s where this was headed tonight. 

“Hmm, that’s probably a good idea.” Christen teased, running a hand over Tobin’s wet hair, watching her for a reaction. 

Tobin bit her lip, thinking of the possibility of undressing Christen. She felt like she was in a dream. 

They shared a couple more kisses, before giving in and breaking apart. They couldn’t stay under this awning all night and would eventually have to finish their run to the hotel.

Tobin backed up, reaching out for Christen’s hand as they stood there, ready to set back out into the rain. They waited for the crossing light to change in their favor, sharing one last look at each other before running out into the rain again. They only made it a few steps before they dropped their hands, needing them to run. 

The last block, Christen turned up the jets, sprinting up the hotel driveway, just ahead of Tobin. Christen was fast, and Tobin maybe didn’t try her absolute hardest, watching Christen win and touch the lobby doors first. 

“Yes!” Christen threw her hands up playfully. 

“Damn you’re fast.” Tobin laughed. She wasn’t lying. 

She wrapped her arm around Christen as the lobby doors opened, the two women walking inside together.

Before they could make it very far, they heard their names being called.

“Tobin! Christen!” Perry yelled from the couches near the fireplace in the lobby. “You’re back!”

Tobin looked over to see her family all sitting around the coffee table on two couches, each of them with drinks in their hands. Christen noticed them at about the same time, coming to a stop in her stride. Christen smiled and waved at the group, turning to head towards where they were sitting. 

Tobin slowly slid her hand back from Christen’s waist, letting it drop casually as they approached the group.

“Hey!” Christen greeted them kindly. 

“You’re all wet, what’d you do, run here?” Tobin’s dad questioned in a joking tone. 

“Yea, actually.” Tobin started to laugh. 

“We were just having some drinks, join us!” Tobin’s mom spoke up. “We figured you guys would be back soon. How was your trip?” 

Tobin looked at Christen, trying to gage her reaction to the invite of joining them. Christen just smiled at Cindy. They both still had water dripping off of their clothes. 

“I’ll grab a couple towels from the desk.” Jeff said, standing up from the couch. He walked over to the front lobby desk and came back instantly with two warm towels, handing one to each girl.

Tobin and Christen dried themselves off as best as possible, running the towels over their hair and shirts.

They stood there for a few minutes, telling the group about how cool and fun Orvieto had been and how worth it the trip up there had been today. 

“Do you want a chair?” Jeff asked, standing up again after they finished describing their day. He motioned for them to sit down. 

“Yea Tobs, I just ordered you a beer. Sit down.” Taylor said, walking back to the group from the bar, with a couple more drinks in his hands. He passed them around.

“Christen, would you like one as well? I’ve gotta make another trip.” Taylor questioned. 

“Oh, no thank you.” Christen answered. Tobin was watching her again. “I was actually about to head upstairs. I’ve gotta send a couple emails for work before bed. And I should get out of these wet clothes.”

Jeff slid a chair over for Tobin, not really giving her an option besides to sit down. Taylor was back and handing Tobin’s beer to her. 

Tobin was trying not to be annoyed with her family’s insistence that she stay. She had been away from them all day, and knew they would want to hang out, but all Tobin wanted to do is continue on her way upstairs with Christen. Her plan of getting Christen out of her wet clothes was looking more foiled by the moment.

Christen stayed and chatted for a few more minutes, before telling the group goodnight. Just as she was about to walk away Cindy spoke up again.

“Oh, Christen!” She asked, waiting for Christen to look at her. “We made dinner reservations tomorrow night at this Italian place downtown. Would you join us?”

Christen thought over for schedule for the day quickly. 

“It’s supposed to be the best restaurant in the city. The make all the noodles and bread right in house.” Cindy continued. 

Christen made eye contact with Tobin, trying to figure out if she should say yes. Tobin just gave her a happy smile.

“Oh.. Ah, yea.” Christen answered, nodding her head to Cindy. “I think we should be done decorating before dinner. I’d love to.” 

The Heath family all responded excitedly, glad that Christen agreed to dinner with them.

Christen said goodnight again, moving around the group. As she passed Tobin, she reached out and skimmed her hand along Tobin’s lower back, silently offering a little affection to the older girl. They locked eyes and smiled at each other. If Christen’ was right, Tobin was wordlessly saying  _ Sorry _ with her look. 

“Night everyone!” Christen waved, heading for the elevators. 

Tobin lasted forty five minutes down in the lobby with her family before she finally got to sneak away. She milked the one beer, trying to find a reason to escape the whole time. She checked her phone a few times to see if Christen had maybe texted her. Nothing came through.

Tobin quickly ran up to her room, finally changing out of her now barely damp clothes. She wasn’t sure whether Christen would still be awake, but she wanted to try. At least say goodnight after their amazing day together. 

Tobin rode the elevator up one floor and walked back to room 817, knocking softly. It took a few seconds before Christen opened the door slightly, peeking her head around. 

When she saw it was Tobin standing there, Christen smiled again. “I wasn’t sure I’d see you again tonight.” The younger woman spoke, moving back to let Tobin in the room. 

“Yea, sorry, I didn’t know if I should text or not so I just came up. I wanted to say goodnight.” Tobin offered. 

“Say goodnight or sleep here?” Christen asked with a smile playing at her lips. 

Tobin walked towards Christen, reaching out for her. “Whatever you want, babe.”

Christen let Tobin pull her in. Laughing again as she repeated Tobin’s term of endearment. “ _ Babe _ .”

“Shit, sorry.” Tobin laughed a little guiltily, realizing that it slipped out again. 

“Oh, stop.” Christen smiled, leaning in to kiss Tobin’s cheek. “I didn’t say I didn’t like it. It just keeps catching me off guard.”

“Okay.” Tobin smiled, turning her head to press her lips to Christen’s. 

Christen pulled back and turned towards the bed, walking to it where her laptop was sitting. She grabbed the laptop and closed it quickly, putting it on the floor. Tobin stood there watching, waiting to see what her next move should be. 

Christen had changed clothes and was back in her white t shirt and gray cotton shorts, the same outfit she’d slept in last night. Tobin looked at her, able to tell Christen wasn’t wearing a bra tonight. Her throat went dry.

Christen put all of her work stuff back into her backpack, turning to Tobin.    
  
“So, you’re staying?” She asked as she sat on the bed. 

“Yea, sure.” Tobin smiled. She’d be here as long as Christen let her. 

Christen tapped the bed, signaling for Tobin to join her. Tobin finally moved from the spot she had been rooted in since entering the room, walking to the bed and climbing on it. 

“Sorry about my family, by the way.” Tobin commented as she was laying down against the pillows. “They kind of snuck up on us.”

Christen laughed, turning to look at Tobin who had settled in on her back. “Don’t apologize. They’re pretty great.” 

Tobin just gave Christen a goofy grin. She reached her hand out, asking for Christen to come closer. Christen bit her lip, looking at Tobin’s tan legs that were exposed in her sleep shorts, running her eyes up Tobin’s body. 

Christen grabbed Tobin’s hand and scooted across the bed towards her. She stopped right next to Tobin, sitting on her hands and knees for a moment, trying to decide if she wanted to go for it. Tobin pushed herself up so she was propped up on her forearms, watching Christen.

Christen leaned in and kissed Tobin suggestively, running her tongue along Tobin’s lip until she got the access to Tobin’s mouth that she wanted. It was a slightly awkward position, Christen kneeling to the side of Tobin, and the kiss couldn’t continue like this for long.

Christen pulled back, narrowing her eyes a bit. Tobin smiled like she could read her mind, hopeful about what was happening. Christen didn’t wait any longer, swinging her leg over Tobin, straddling her slowly. 

Tobin's hands found Christen’s hips as she rested her weight down on Tobin. Neither of them spoke, just looked at each other with heavy eyes. Christen moved Tobin’s hair off her shoulder, slowly leaning down.

“Hi.” Christen smiled sweetly.

“Hi.” Tobin replied softly. Her voice dripping with want. 

Christen leaned the rest of the way in, kissing Tobin slowly again. The kiss started to build almost immediately, both of them nipping and licking. Christen would swear Tobin was the best kisser she’s ever had the pleasure of kissing. 

After a few minutes of heavy making out, Tobin’s hands got a little restless. She nudged Christen’s body up with her hands. Christen responded, rising up on her knees slightly as they continued to kiss. 

Christen felt Tobin’s hands slide around her hips, down her butt where they stopped for a moment, just at the top of her legs. Christen slid her tongue into Tobin’s mouth, trying to encourage her with another deep kiss. After another moment, Tobin’s hands slowly slid back up, underneath the hem on the bottom of Christen’s cotton shorts, gently but firmly cupping both of Christen’s ass cheeks under the fabric.

Tobin then realized Christen wasn’t wearing underwear under her shorts. Christen moaned softly into Tobin’s mouth at the skin on skin contact and the way Tobin’s strong hands felt on her ass. 

Christen only lasted through another minute of Tobin gently and expertly massaging her ass before she needed a little more. She broke the kiss for a moment, reaching around to grab onto Tobin’s hands, pulling them out from her shorts. She then moved them around to her front, resting back on Tobin’s legs with her weight. 

Christen’s eyes were lost in want as she grinded down into Tobin, their centers finding friction against each other, only a small amount of fabric in between them.

It was Tobin’s turn to moan at the contact of Christen pressing down into her. Tobin’s hips bucked up slightly, involuntarily. They settled into a slow but steady rhythm with their hips, as Christen lifted Tobin’s hands, moving them under the hem of her shirt.

Tobin’s hands found Christen’s stomach under the fabric, slowly moving upwards to Christen’s chest. 

“Tobin.” Christen whined a little. 

That was all Tobin needed to let her hands travel the rest of the way up Christen’s stomach.

“Fuck.” Christen and Tobin both moaned at the same time, as Tobin made contact, her hands cupping Christen’s bare breasts. 

Tobin leaned up so she was sitting, chest to chest with Christen. Tobin’s lips found Christen’s neck, skillfully kissing up the column of her neck, before finding the spot where Christen’s pulse was vibrating wildly. 

Christen just grabbed the back of Tobin’s neck, hanging on tightly as she let her head fall back. The sensation of Tobin’s hands on her breasts and lips on her neck was sending her into overdrive. 

If they didn’t stop now, there would be no turning back, and Christen wasn’t quite sure they were ready for  _ that _ step yet. 

She pulled back slowly, trying to gather her wits. “Tobin.” She husked out quietly, asking for Tobin to look at her.

Tobin’s mouth left Christen’s neck, pulling back to look Christen in the eyes. As soon as they made eye contact, they both started laughing. They sat their looking at each other, catching their breath again.

“We should maybe slow down.” Tobin conceded, almost as a question.

“Yea.. probably.” Christen agreed. Things had escalated pretty quickly.

Tobin slid her hands slowly off of Christen’s breasts, running them back down her stomach and out of her shirt. She then moved a hand up to Christen’s hair and gently moved it behind her ear. They kissed again, more innocent this time.

Tobin fell back against the pillows, creating enough distance between their faces so they could talk easier. 

“I got a little carried away.” Tobin offered, holding eye contact with Christen. “You make it hard to restrain myself.”

“I did too.” Christen offered up, letting Tobin know she had the same effect on her.

Christen collapsed onto Tobin’s chest. Tobin moved her arms around Christen’s back, hugging her tightly. 

They laid there for another moment, just holding each other before Tobin spoke again. “We should probably sleep.”

Christen sat up and slowly moved off of Tobin. “Yea, it’s late.” Moving to the edge of the bed.

Christen got up and went to the bathroom, shutting the lights off as she came back to bed. Tobin took a deep breath as Christen was gone, trying to slow her heart rate.

When Christen had the lights off she reached over and set the alarm on her phone. “I have to be up at 6, but you can stay and sleep as late as you want.” 

“Okay.” Tobin just smiled.

Christen set her phone back down and turned over towards Tobin, kissing her lips sweetly one last time. “Thanks for a great day, Tobs.”

Tobin laughed into the kiss. “Anytime,  _ babe _ .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cue the falling-in-love movie montage with this one.. I just can't decide what song would be playing.
> 
> Let me know what you think of this chapter. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and putting a smile on my face with all the nice comments. :)


	6. Friday

“Tobin Powell Heath!”

Tobin heard her name being called from down the hall as she was inserting the room key into her hotel room door. Tobin glanced to her left, looking down the hall. 

Perry was approaching from the elevator bank, giving Tobin a suspicious look. Tobin just sighed, knowing there was no escaping the oncoming questions.

“Where were _you_?” Perry asked as she reached Tobin, a sly smiling playing at her lips.

“Outside of my room..” Tobin replied, not giving an inch before Perry let on what she was talking about. “Now I’m going back inside my room.”

It was still pretty early, early enough that Perry knew Tobin wasn’t out sightseeing or anything. They stood there for a moment in a silent showdown.

Tobin had woken up alone in Christen’s room, as she expected to. She vaguely remembers Christen’s alarm going off and then Christen gently kissing her once, a little later; letting her know she was leaving, before Tobin drifted back into sleep. When she woke up again, she rolled over and smiled at the way the bed sheets smelled like Christen. She missed her absence immediately.

But now she was trying to get back into her room. To shower, and make a plan about how to spend the day. She wasn’t trying to get interrogated for her whereabouts.

“Uh huh.” Perry smiled again. “And this wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain gray-eyed beauty would it?” 

“They’re green.” Tobin replied without thinking. Her thoughts drifting to the way she had studied Christen’s eyes enough to know their true color. She internally scolded herself as soon as the words left her mouth. 

“Well, you would know.” Perry laughed. 

Tobin knew she was caught. She pushed the door open and Perry followed her inside, sitting down on the bed excitedly.

“Seriously, Tobs. Spill!” Perry was getting impatient. And her excitement was seeping through her tone.

Tobin groaned. She absolutely loved her sister, but sometimes she could be a little nosy. It was all in supportive fun, the way Perry always wanted to know about Tobin’s love life. And she probably hadn’t been blind to the way Tobin had been looking at Christen all week. 

“Okay.. yea.” Tobin gave in. “I may have been coming from Christen’s room.”

“Ha! I knew it!” Perry clapped her hands once. “I  _ told _ Taylor that’s where you were!”

Tobin was confused. She had left her family in the lobby last night thinking they all were heading to bed soon. She just assumed her family would think she went to bed as well.

“Wait, when were you looking for me?” Tobin asked.

“Last night, after you left the lobby.” Perry explained. “Mom and Dad went to bed, and everyone else was being lame, so Taylor and I came up to see if you wanted to go out with us.”

Tobin nodded slightly.

“We knocked on your door like three times, but you never answered..” Perry’s eyes wiggled a little.

Tobin just laughed at Perry’s reaction, falling back onto the bed. There was a quick moment of silence before Perry kept on her questioning.

“So.. you and Christen..?” She asked.

Tobin didn’t really know what to say.  _ What was this thing they were doing? _

“I don’t know.. I guess?” Tobin just shrugged. She didn’t want to assume anything, and her and Christen clearly hadn’t talked about it.

“You guess?” Perry scoffed. “You’ve spent like, all your free time with her. And when you’re not with her, you’ve been moping around wishing you  _ were  _ with her.”

“Is it that obvious?” Tobin questioned sincerely. She hated to think that her family felt like she’d rather be doing something with Christen than them.

“Just a little.” Perry laughed. She fell back next to Tobin, both of them looking up at the ceiling in silence again. 

“So you really like her, huh?” Perry asked again, in a much softer tone of understanding.

“ _ So much.”  _ Tobin sighed, running a hand over her face. It was almost driving her crazy, how she felt about Christen. They’d only known each other for seven days.

Perry sat up excitedly, looking over at Tobin. “Oh my gosh, this is so cute. Did you tell her? Does she like you back?”

Tobin laughed at her crazy older sister. “Well, she kinda said she did..”

“Tobin!” Perry squealed. 

“Okay, okay, calm down.” Tobin begged. She sat up to look at Perry again. 

“I am calm.” Perry defended. “I’m just happy for you!”

They smiled at each other. Tobin was actually glad she could tell someone about how she felt. 

“She asked me if I would be her date to the Gala on Saturday night.” Tobin informed Perry.

Perry’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head with delight. “You said yes, right?!” 

Tobin was amused at how excited this made Perry. “Yea, of course.”

Perry did an animated fist pump into the air as she sat on the bed, beaming proudly now. She stood up and walked to the window, looking out it in silence for a moment. Tobin just watched her.

“Well, I must say.. she’s hot!” Perry turned back around to face Tobin. “Nice catch, Tobs.” 

Tobin let out another belly laugh, bouncing up off the bed. “Yea, I haven’t caught anything yet. It’s not like this is the most ideal situation.” 

Tobin had only let thoughts of Christen leaving on Sunday creep into her mind a couple times. She was trying to avoid it as much as possible and just enjoy their time together. 

“It’ll work out how it’s supposed to.” Perry reassured Tobin. “Portland and LA aren’t that far apart.” 

Tobin just shrugged. She had no plans of assuming that Christen even wanted anything after this week. Maybe this was just a fun vacation fling to her. Tobin felt her heart ache at the thought of it. 

“Shower and get ready. We’re going shopping.” Perry said, heading for the door. She turned back and gave Tobin a loving big sister smile. “Love you, Tobs.”

Tobin and her sisters spent most of the day shopping for a dress for Tobin to wear to the Gala on Saturday night. They ventured to the boutique shops near the famed Spanish Steps, grabbing lunch in between stops. Finally Tobin found a simple but elegant black dress to wear.  Perry assured her that with some jewelry and light makeup, the dress would be perfect.

Christen spent the day going over the final draft of the speech she was giving the following night and getting the Gala set up with her coworkers. That mostly meant making small edits while directing a team of people who were setting up tables and a stage and hanging decorations for the event.

It was being hosted at a beautiful villa just outside of the city. The villa had three floors with stunning terraces and gardens lining the property. There was a large atrium in the center of the house, with balconies lining it, where the Gala would take place. The best part about it however, was the breathtaking panoramic view of city, just off in the distance. Christen guessed it looked very romantic once the sun was down. 

Christen spent some time away from her computer walking the property, imagining all of the amazing things that could happen there. She couldn’t wait to show it Tobin. 

They sent a few texts back and forth throughout the day, making sure Christen knew where to meet them for dinner. They also found themselves discussing the previous night a little.

{Christen}:  **_Can’t stop thinking about last night._ **

{Christen}:  **_Your hands, specifically._ **

Tobin read the text as they were in line to grab a coffee, needing to refuel with a some caffeine. She almost blushed, making sure neither of her sisters were glancing over her shoulder. 

{Tobin Heath}: **_Well I can’t stop thinking about touching you.._ **

Tobin knew she was being straightforward, but it was the truth. Having her hands on Christen last night was the only thing replaying in her mind today. 

It took Christen a while to text back, busy with another task. When she checked her phone again she felt a buzz run through her body. She needed to stop with those thoughts right now or she wouldn’t be able to concentrate on memorizing her speech. 

{Christen}: **_I’m going back to work so you stop teasing me._ **

{Christen}:  **_See you at dinner._ **

Tobin smiled, glad her reply had its intended effect.

{Tobin Heath}:  **_I can’t wait._ **

The rest of the afternoon flew by for both of them, and before Tobin knew it, they were being dropped off in front of the restaurant by a cab. Christen had let Tobin know she would be a few minutes late, caught in traffic coming back into the city. The Heath family got seated while they waited. 

When Christen walked in, Perry was the first one to spot her. She immediately let a smile cross her face, nudging Tobin with her foot under the table. “Your girl is here.”

Tobin turned around and saw Christen standing by the door, scanning the room for where they were sitting. Tobin thought she might pass out with how sexy and beautiful Christen looked. 

Christen was wearing a tight blue and black printed dress that ended just at the top of her knees with black  open toe bootie heels. Her hair was meticulously straightened and she carried a small clutch and her phone with her. 

Christen’s hair hung slightly in her face as she looked down, watching her step as she approached the table. Tobin swallowed thickly. If she would have realized what Christen looked like this morning leaving the room, Tobin would have never let her go. She looked that good. 

“Hi, I’m so sorry I’m late!” Christen waved as she walked up. “Traffic was crazy.”

Jeff and Cindy stood up when Christen reached them, both giving her a warm hug. Tobin had butterflies as she watched the interaction.

“Don’t worry about it, we’re glad you made it.” Cindy said kindly.

Christen greeted everyone and moved around the table to where Tobin was. Tobin smiled and stood up as well, sliding Christen’s chair out for her. 

Christen gave Tobin a sweet smile and ran her hand playfully down Tobin’s arm. “Hey you.” She said for just Tobin to hear.

“Hi.” Tobin smiled, motioning for Christen to sit down first. 

There was a new feeling between them tonight, noticeable as soon as Christen arrived. Every move or glance that either woman made carried a little more weight than it seemed to have before. Tobin couldn’t put her finger on exactly why, but it probably had something to do with how intimate they were last night. It only made Tobin want more. 

Conversation flowed easily during dinner. Christen felt again like she was part of the family, the way they included her in jokes and told her stories about past vacations they’d taken. She never would have imagined meeting such a welcoming group of people on this trip. 

Tobin sat as close as possible to Christen, sometimes putting her arm around the back of Christen’s chair or grabbing her hand under the table. With every display of affection, the two got more comfortable in front of Tobin’s family.

While Tobin’s brother was in the middle of telling a story to most of the table, Tobin took a minute to check in with Christen quietly, keeping the conversation just between them. 

“How was your day?” Tobin asked lowly, skimming her thumb along Christen’s shoulder with her arm around her chair again.

“Good. Really busy.” Christen smiled, holding eye contact closely with Tobin. They just stared at each other with a smile.

Christen reached her hand out under the table and found Tobin’s thigh, running her hand up slowly and letting it rest right at the hem of Tobin’s jean shorts. Tobin bit her lip and just continued to look into Christen’s eyes. So turned on from such a simple action. 

Tobin leaned in to whisper in Christen’s ear as everyone was still distracted. “You look so fucking sexy in that dress.” She husked, leaning away again slightly. 

Christen cleared her throat a little, easily affected by Tobin’s words. She slid her hand a little higher on Tobin’s leg, unable to form a coherent response.

Both of their bodies felt like they were throbbing with want. It was getting harder to concentrate on the conversation happening around them. 

Jeff snapped Christen out of their trance momentarily. “So, you’re all set for the Gala tomorrow night?” 

Christen broke eye contact with Tobin finally, turning to answer Jeff’s questions. “Yea I am, I think I finally have my speech the way I want it.”

Tobin’s dad was intrigued. “Oh you have to speak? What an honor.”

Christen launched into what her speech would cover, explaining the process of the event.

Tobin felt a kick to her ankle as Christen was talking, looking over to see Perry giving her a shit-eating grin. Tobin just kicked her back, trying not to smile.

The meal was as fantastic as advertised. Tobin ordered the  Spaghetti alla Carbonara with Chicken  and Christen ended up getting the Pesto Ravioli. They shared both dishes between each other and a bottle of white wine.  

Tobin and Christen had more time to talk one on one while they ate. Tobin made sure Christen was ready and confident for tomorrow, assuring her she’d do phenomenal with her speech. Tobin didn’t even need to read it, she already knew Christen would come up with the perfect things to say. They kept their fingers laced together loosely under the tablecloth the whole time.

After everyone finished eating, Tobin was dying to get out of there. Christen was back to rubbing small circles on her upper thigh and she was way too turned on to stay any longer than necessary. All she could think about was getting Christen out of that dress. 

The waiter came by one last time asking if they wanted anything else. Tobin’s mom spoke up, asking the table if they wanted to order a couple more bottles of wine. 

When Tobin’s brother and dad said they were up for more, Tobin’s eyes about rolled out of her head. She leaned over to Christen again. 

“Can we get out of here?” She spoke into Christen’s ear.

Christen turned to answer Tobin. “They seem like they wanna stay..”

“I know but you and I can go. We can just say you’re tired from your long day.” Tobin continued.

Christen was a little apprehensive. She didn’t want Tobin’s family to think she just showed up to eat a free meal and then was going to duck out so quickly. 

Tobin could tell she was torn, trying to make her decision easier, leaning in even closer to whisper to Christen’s ear again. “I want you so bad right now.”

Christen found Tobin’s hand again under the table and gave it an affirming squeeze. That was all the confirmation Tobin needed.

“Mom, I think Christen and I are gonna go. She’s gotta get up early again tomorrow.” Tobin spoke up as Cindy was asking the waiter for additional wine recommendations.

“Oh, are you sure sweetie?” Cindy seemed a little let down. 

“Yea, I don’t wanna make her go back by herself.” Tobin offered, unsure if any of her family was still falling for that excuse.

Christen didn’t make Tobin do all the explaining. “Sorry, I just have some stuff I need to get done tonight before the big day tomorrow.” She didn’t give any details. “Can I get the dinner bill though?” 

“Oh don’t be silly, dear.” Cindy waved Christen off immediately. “We wanted you to join us, you won’t be paying for anything.”

Tobin laughed at Christen’s attempt. She found it sweet that Christen tried to hold up her suggestion of buying them dinner from earlier in the week, but Tobin probably would have told her to drop it if she asked. 

“Chris, no way.” Tobin agreed out loud with her mom. 

“Thank you guys for dinner.” Tobin said as she looked between her Mom and Dad, standing up from the table so Christen could also get out. Christen thanked them again as well, truly grateful for another fun time with the Heath family.

“Bye you guys!” Perry winked at Tobin before Christen noticed. Tobin gave her a  _ shut up _ look.

And with that, Tobin was following Christen out of the restaurant, one hand gently on her back for support. As soon as they got outside, Tobin reached for Christen’s hand, turning her around to kiss her. Both of them started laughing as their lips were connected, breaking apart after a few seconds. 

“Oh my god, I thought that was never going to end” Tobin whined. 

They were waiting for a cab on the sidewalk, Christen had her arm laced through Tobin’s. 

“Not being able to kiss you was torture.” Tobin continued. 

Christen rolled her eyes, turning back to Tobin and placing another kiss to her lips. “You’re so dramatic.” She hushed as she pulled away again. 

Before Tobin could defend herself, a cab was pulling up for them. They got in and directed the driver to the St. Regis Hotel. 

Christen felt herself shaking a little on the ride home. She thought she was cold, but then realized it was probably just a small amount of nerves. She knew what was about to happen, and she knew that she wanted it. She could feel it deep within her, this craving for Tobin. This feeling was unlike anything she’d ever experienced before. 

Tobin could tell Christen was a little anxious, gently wrapping her arm around Christen, getting as close as possible in the backseat of the cab, before kissing her cheek a couple times. 

By the time the cab dropped them off in front of their hotel, they were barely able to keep their hands off of each other. Tobin paid the driver as Christen continued inside, holding the elevator door for Tobin. As soon as the door closed, Christen was pushing Tobin against the wall, sliding her tongue into Tobin’s mouth. 

They stood there and kissed for a moment before either of them realized they hadn’t pushed the floor button. 

Christen broke the kiss with a laugh. “Whoops. Your room or mine?”

“Yours. My family doesn’t know which room that is.” Tobin smiled, watching Christen hit the button for floor 8, before pulling her back in to continue their kiss. 

As they approached the room, Christen fumbled with her clutch a little, trying to find her room key. Tobin was running her hands up and down Christen’s sides from behind. Christen’s head was already hazy like she couldn’t concentrate. Tobin’s hands were setting her on fire. 

Finally she got the door open, pushing inside of the room quickly. She tossed her clutch down and bent down to kick her heels off before turning around to face Tobin. There was a silence between them now, nothing but their breathing audible.

Tobin took one deep breath and let it out slowly through her nose before taking the two steps to Christen, closing the gap between them. 

This time before they kissed, both of them made an effort to ground themselves. Tobin was trying to make this last. She wanted to take her time with Christen and make her feel good and appreciated. 

“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.” Tobin said through a quiet, shaky voice. And it was true.

Christen blushed, always so modest about her looks. “Thank you.” 

They stood there eye to eye for a moment, waiting to see who was going to make the first move.

Finally Christen leaned in and kissed Tobin’s neck. Her hands were trembling slightly with nerves as she hung on to Tobin’s shoulder. She wasn’t sure it was even noticeable to Tobin. 

After kissing and sucking on Tobin’s pulse point for a moment, Christen pulled away and grabbed at the bottom of Tobin’s shirt. She carefully lifted it up over Tobin’s stomach and chest, watching Tobin raise her arms so she could take it completely off. Christen let her eyes roam over Tobin’s now bare stomach. Slowly reaching out to run a fingertip over Tobin’s ab muscles before her eyes slowly trailed up to Tobin’s chest, guarded only by a black bra. 

Tobin leaned back in for a kiss, sucking on Christen’s bottom lip, before pulling back and spinning Christen around. Tobin found the zipper of Christen’s dress with her hands. 

“Is this okay?” Tobin asked gently. Christen gave her a small but firm nod. 

Tobin slowly began to unzip Christen’s dress, opening the back of it. When the zipper reached the bottom of the line, Tobin slid her hands inside the dress, running them over Christen’s back. Christen shivered at the contact before Tobin peeled the dress off of her. Tobin looked down to watch the dress fall to the floor. 

She closed the tiny bit of space between them, moving Christen’s long, dark hair to the side and placing a kiss to Christen’s bare shoulder; and then one on her back, right at her shoulder blade.

Christen’s breathing increased slightly at the feel of Tobin’s lips on her skin. Tobin wrapped her hands around Christen’s waist, letting her palms run over Christen’s bare stomach. Christen turned her head to meet Tobin, their lips finding each other at this odd angle. 

Christen pulled back from the kiss and wiggled out of Tobin’s hold, turning back around to face the brown eyed girl. They smiled at each other as Christen reached out for Tobin’s shorts, undoing the button and zipper and pulling them down and off her hips. 

Tobin stepped out of her shorts as they hit the ground, now both women clothed in only their bra and underwear. Christen stepped forward again and grabbed Tobin’s neck, bringing her in for another kiss. 

This time when the kiss broke, Christen wasted no time going for Tobin’s bra. She was gaining confidence, seeing the way Tobin was looking at her. Christen gently reached for Tobin’s bra straps, moving them down around her arms before reaching around to unclasp the metal hook on Tobin’s back. 

Christen held eye contact the whole time, making sure Tobin was okay. She just smiled, perfectly happy with what was happening. Tobin finished the job for her, grabbing the fabric and tossing it to the side of the room.

Christen let her eyes focus on Tobin’s bare chest now, reaching her shaking hands up and gently palming both breasts, touching Tobin for the first time. Tobin placed her hands overtop of Christen’s on her chest, trying to calm Christen’s nerves a bit. 

Christen gently massaged Tobin for a moment, feeling her nipples harden at the contact. Before long, Tobin got anxious, wanting more of Christen. She slowly removed Christen’s hands from herself before stepping forward and reaching for Christen’s bra, discarding it expertly.

After Christen’s chest was bare, Tobin leaned in, running her lips down Christen’s neck and settling at the top of her left breast. Tobin placed a kiss there before continuing down, taking her nipple into her mouth and sucking lightly. Christen let a moan escape at the feeling of Tobin’s mouth on her chest. 

Tobin spent a moment there before continuing south, slowly dropping to her knees in front of Christen. Christen swallowed hard as Tobin reached up for the band of Christen’s black lacy thong, gently tugging it down until it was around her knees, then moving it the rest of the way to the floor. 

Tobin sat back on her knees and looked up at Christen, taking her time to let her eyes roam over every inch of the gorgeous body in front of her, now completely naked. 

“You are perfect.” Tobin husked out, grabbing Christen’s thighs firmly with her hands.

Christen bit her lip and let her eyes look lustfully down at Tobin, willing her to continue. 

“You’re like my Roman Goddess.” Tobin said again through a raspy tone. 

Christen laughed lightly at Tobin’s words. She was so turned on. 

Tobin didn’t laugh, too focused on Christen’s amazing body. “I want you.” She continued.

Christen just nodded, taking a deep breath, giving Tobin the green light for whatever she wanted to do. Christen was all in. 

Tobin used her strong hands to spread Christen’s legs apart a little more, running her lips up Christen’s thigh, kissing her slowly. Tobin then moved to where Christen wanted her most, finding her bare center. 

Tobin didn’t hesitate, sticking her tongue out and running it firmly through Christen’s folds once.

Christen moaned at the sensation, grabbing the back of Tobin’s head to ground her. She felt her knees go weak. Tobin pulled back to look up at Christen’s face, wanting to see the pleasure in it.

“You taste so good.” Tobin whispered, kissing her thighs on each side once. She slowly started to kiss up Christen’s body, first at her stomach and then at her chest, taking Christen’s nipple into her mouth again for only a moment. Tobin then stood all the way up, face to face with Christen again, kissing her quickly.

“I need you to lay down.” Tobin instructed, bringing her hands around Christen’s ass and lifting her up. Christen wrapped her legs around Tobin’s waist and grabbed her neck firmly, as Tobin walked her a few steps to the bed, gently setting her down. 

“Lay back.” Tobin continued. She was on a mission. Christen listened immediately, sliding back on the bed as Tobin climbed on top of her. 

“Tobin.” Christen whispered in the dark room as she watched Tobin crawl up her body.

“Yea, babe?” Tobin answered, letting Christen know she had her full attention.

“I’ve never done this before..” Christen admitted sheepishly. 

Tobin looked up and met Christen’s eyes in the darkness. “Had sex?” She questioned, maybe a little surprised.

Christen laughed playfully, making sure Tobin understood the ease in her tone. “No, I mean I’ve obviously had sex.. Just.. Not with a girl before.” She got out.

“Oh.” Tobin was a little caught off guard by the admission. She didn’t know what to think before, knowing Christen’s last relationship was with a guy.

“Do you want to stop?” Tobin asked genuinely. She would be fine with whatever Christen wanted.

“No, definitely not. I want this.  _ I want you. _ ” Christen responded quickly. “Just.. teach me?” She gave Tobin almost pleading eyes.

Tobin nodded, letting Christen know she understood, leaning in to kiss her firmly. 

Christen didn’t want to wait any longer, needing to get Tobin completely naked as well. She reached up for the waistband of her underwear and slid them down her ass. Tobin paused for a moment to watch Christen’s hands, helping her kick off the small pair of black panties quickly. They both laughed coyly at the struggle. 

Tobin regained her focus quickly, kissing Christen’s lips again, slotting her tongue into Christen’s mouth, only for a moment, before she broke the kiss and worked her way back down Christen’s body.

Tobin ended up kneeling in front of Christen on the bed, sitting back on her heels and gripping Christen’s legs, opening them again. Christen held eye contact as long as she could.

Tobin moved her left hand in and ran her fingers over Christen’s center once. “You’re so wet.”

Christen just nodded, unable to speak, filled with want. 

Tobin then leaned down without hesitating and ran her tongue through Christen’s folds again, this time taking her clit into her mouth and sucking lightly.

“Oh,  _ fuck _ .” Christen moaned out. 

Tobin was encouraged, doing the same pattern again and again, hearing Christen moan repeatedly. Christen bucked her hips into Tobin, trying to gather as much friction as possible. They settled into a steady rhythm, matching each other move for move. 

Tobin let her tongue explore all of Christen, finally finding her entrance and sliding her tongue in. Slowly as first, and then faster and firmer with each lick. Christen was so close to coming. Tobin could tell by the look on her face and the constant flow of moans pouring out of Christen’s mouth.

Christen needed that final push to fall over the edge. “Tobin, use your fingers.” She pleaded through shallow breaths.

Tobin removed her tongue and found Christen’s clit again, sucking it into her mouth and not releasing it. Tobin then brought two fingers up and slid them slowly into Christen, thrusting deeply a few times as Christen’s walls contracted.

One final flick of Tobin's tongue on her clit was all it took before Christen was melting underneath her. 

“Tobin. Oh fuck.” Christen moaned out, giving in to her orgasm. Tobin helped her ride it out, not giving up on her movements, just slowing them gradually. 

When it seemed like Christen was finally finished, Tobin let her tongue run back through Christen’s folds again, gathering up her wetness that had pooled. It made Tobin’s mouth water, the taste of Christen’s orgasm.

Tobin sat back on her heels again, marveling at Christen before her. The green eyed woman was spent, her eyes shut tightly and a small line of sweat on her forehead. Her chest was contracting wildly, trying to catch her breath. 

“Tobin.” She finally said, reaching for the woman in front of her. “That was. So. Good.” She got out. 

Christen grabbed Tobin’s hands, pulling her up her body. Tobin was on her hands and knees over Christen, smiling down at her face, waiting for Christen to open her eyes again. Tobin brushed away some hair that had fallen over Christen’s face.

Tobin laughed lightly, so happy to have just made Christen feel that way. Christen opened her eyes and smiled back, lifting her head to meet Tobin’s, kissing her lips sweetly.

Christen could still taste herself on Tobin’s tongue as it moved into her mouth. It made her dizzy with satisfaction. 

As their kiss deepened again, Christen ran her hands down Tobin’s strong back, down over her ass. Christen used her right hand to move around Tobin’s hip, before cupping Tobin’s center firmly. It was her turn to try and make Tobin feel good.

They both moaned again. Tobin at the contact and Christen at finally feeling how wet Tobin was for her. They continued to kiss as Christen started massaging Tobin’s slit with her fingertips, barely ghosting over it, again and again. 

Finally as Tobin was biting down on Christen’s bottom lip, Christen gave in, inserting a finger inside of Tobin. Tobin moaned again, breaking the kiss slightly so she could rock back into Christen’s hand. Her strong arms still supporting her weight over Christen. 

Christen moved her finger in and out of Tobin for a moment, letting Tobin get used to the rhythm. 

“Fuck, babe.” Tobin sighed with her eyes closed. “That feels really good.”

Christen wasted no time adding another finger on the next thrust, spurred on by Tobin’s words. Tobin responded immediately, sitting up farther so she could rock down into Christen’s fingers at a better angle. They found a steady tempo together, Tobin meeting Christen’s fingers over and over, using her hips to set the pace. 

Tobin was letting a string of curse words flow out of her mouth as she got close. Christen spun her wrist, inserting her fingers into Tobin again while her thumb found Tobin’s clit. Christen then used her thumb to rub small circles over it. 

Tobin moaned again. She had her eyes closed and was biting her bottom lip, completely lost in pleasure. 

The pressure of Christen’s thumb was all Tobin needed, finally finding her release. Tobin’s wetness covered Christen’s hand as Tobin rode out her own orgasm. Christen didn’t remove her fingers from inside of Tobin, just slowed her motions with her thumb. 

Finally Tobin stilled herself, her arms shaking widely. Christen didn’t know if it was from the orgasm or from Tobin supporting her weight this whole time. Christen removed her fingers from Tobin and brought her hand up to her mouth. She was curious as to what Tobin tasted like. Tobin watched her with hooded eyes as Christen licked her fingers clean once. 

When Christen’s hand was clean and wiped off on the bed sheets, she pulled Tobin down into her, letting her relax. Their bare chests were pressed together now as Christen peppered Tobin’s forehead with kisses. 

Tobin let her face fall into Christen’s neck, still gasping for air. After a moment she found herself coherent enough to speak.

“Holy shit babe.” She said, muffled against Christen’s skin. She lifted her head to meet Christen’s eyes. They both smiled lovingly at each other. “Are you sure you’ve never done that before?”

Christen laughed happily. “Only to myself, I guess.”

Tobin felt herself get wet again, imagining Christen pleasuring herself. She pushed those thoughts away momentarily, too exhausted at the moment to go again now. 

Tobin placed a kiss to Christen’s forehead and then her cheek and then down to her jaw, before meeting her lips again. 

Christen pulled back from their kiss after a moment, holding Tobin’s face close. “You are so amazing.” She leaned back in and placed another peck to Tobin’s lips. “I’ve never had an orgasm like that in my life.”

Tobin felt so proud at Christen’s words. She wanted to do this forever with the perfect woman underneath her. Hoped there was some way this wouldn’t have to end.

She felt her throat tighten, wanting to tell Christen how much she meant to her already. But then the thoughts of Sunday crept in, and she didn’t want overwhelm Christen. She knew they needed to talk about this, but now wasn’t the time. They were both exhausted and emotionally compromised from having just had sex for the first time. Tobin promised herself to bring it up to Christen in the morning.

“You’re perfect.” Tobin countered instead. “My Roman Goddess.” She laughed at her words from earlier. 

“You are such a dork.” Christen laughed too, hugging Tobin a little tighter.

They both drifted off to sleep not long after that, Tobin still on top of Christen. Neither of them wanted to let go of each other, finding peacefulness in the contact.

About an hour later, they found themselves barely awake again, Tobin’s hands back to roaming over Christen. Christen moved to flip them, sliding on top of Tobin, who now had her back pressed to the mattress.

They didn’t speak as Tobin found Christen’s hips and pulled her in. Christen’s legs slotted between Tobin’s, lining up their centers as they fell into a gentle rhythm, grinding against each other. 

It was slow and passionate, the way they pushed into each other. They worked to create the friction they both needed while kissing each other deeply. Christen then pulled away from Tobin’s lips and sat up so her chest wasn’t pressed to Tobin, finding the perfect angle for their cores to work against each other. 

Tobin used her hands to pull Christen’s hips in hard against her, both moving their hips rapidly until they found the release they needed again. Their wetness seeping out over each other. 

This time it was Christen’s turn to collapse into Tobin. She let her face fall on Tobin’s chest, feeling Tobin’s heartbeat pound against her temple.

They didn’t say anything, just slowed their breathing until they were both unconscious again. The pleasure driving them into a deep and content sleep for the rest of the night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About time these two had some ..fun.. :)
> 
> Let me know what you think.
> 
> Will this magical week end happily? 
> 
> Seriously, you all are the best with your comments. Thanks again.


	7. Saturday ii

Christen opened her eyes to find Tobin sliding quietly out of bed and walking towards the bathroom. The loss of warmth against her skin must have been what woke her. She could see that Tobin was still naked, her strong muscles flexing slightly as she walked. Christen smiled to herself and rolled over, burying her face into the pillow that Tobin had just abandoned.

Christen let the events of the night replay in her head as she waited for Tobin to come back to bed. She actually started laughing out loud, thinking of how good it was. _So that’s what good sex feels like huh?_

Tobin came out of the bathroom just then and noticed Christen was awake, grinning as she approached the bed again.

“What’s so funny?” She asked, sneaking back under the covers.

“Nothing.” Christen hummed, moving closer to Tobin. She was laying on her stomach with her head propped up with one hand.

“Morning.” Tobin leaned in and kissed Christen’s head.

“Good morning.” Christen returned with a smile before yawning softly.

They laid there looking at each other for a moment. Christen was studying Tobin’s face, trying to soak in all of her features; memorizing the way Tobin bit her bottom lip and ran her tongue over it anytime she didn’t know what to say. Christen leaned up and kissed Tobin’s lips lovingly to get her to stop.

“I was actually just laughing about last night.” Christen admitted.

“Oh yea?” Tobin hummed, unsure what would be funny about it.

“Let’s just say I’m not used to sex being _that_ good.” Christen continued.

“Yea, it was really good, wasn’t it?” Tobin agreed with a big smile.  

Before their conversation could go any further, Tobin’s phone rang on the bedside table. She looked over at it to see who was calling, picking it up.”Oh it’s my mom.” Christen just laid there in silence, watching Tobin.

Cindy was calling to let Tobin know the group would be leaving in a half hour. They had a trip to the Vatican on the schedule for today, which Tobin had kind of forgotten about. She was actually really looking forward to it. She told her mom she would meet them in the lobby before hanging up.

“I’m sorry to say I’m being summoned.” Tobin sat up, reaching out for Christen’s hand.

Christen laced her hand with Tobin’s casually. “No more pillow talk?” She asked playfully.

“Only for now, we can totally pick this up again later.” Tobin wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, earning a laugh from Christen.

“That’s probably for the best, I need to finish a few things before I head to the venue this afternoon anyway.” Christen sighed.

Tobin knew that Christen was going to be busy for the better part of the afternoon again; and that she would need to get ready on her own before meeting Christen at the Gala tonight. Christen planned to shower at the hotel and change into her dress later at the venue, when it was closer to start time.

Tobin was internally kicking herself for sleeping so late. She wanted them to get up a little earlier and get breakfast together, and possibly broach the subject of what happens next. Now it was too late for such an important conversation. Tobin knew there was no way she could get through everything she wanted to say before she had to meet her family. Plus she still had to shower after their _adventures_ last night.

“I gotta go, babe.” Tobin made a sad face, scrunching up her nose.

Christen laughed at goofy Tobin. “I’ll see you later right?”

“I wouldn’t miss it. 8:00!” Tobin confirmed the time out loud.

Christen sat up and kissed Tobin again, a little longer this time. When they pulled away, Tobin moved off the bed and grabbed her clothes, putting them on as Christen watched.

“Oh yeaaa!” Christen joked as Tobin bent over. Tobin started laughing, not embarrassed in the slightest about being naked in the daylight for Christen to see.

When Tobin was fully dressed she walked back over to the bed, leaning down into Christen again. “Have a good day, beautiful”, kissing her quickly one last time.

“You too. Send me pictures.” Christen replied, smiling as Tobin opened the door, disappearing into the hallway.

Christen fell back against the mattress again now that Tobin was gone. She took a few minutes to meditate, trying to get her mind right. All she could think about was the way Tobin’s eyes looked as she was kneeled in front of her last night, both of them naked and vulnerable. It gave her butterflies.

Christen knew she needed to figure out what to say to Tobin. She didn’t even know what she wanted. _How can this work? Would long distance even be worth it?_

Just as Christen was starting to let the doubt creep in, her phone buzzed on the nightstand. She looked over to see a text and a picture from Tobin.

{Tobin Heath}: **_Nice work._ **

She opened the picture to see Tobin standing with the shower in the background. The camera was mostly focused on Tobin’s neck, a slight red hickey visible on her pulse point.

Christen clapped her hand over her mouth quickly, feeling bad about leaving a mark on Tobin that people would be able to see. She let herself laugh, knowing Tobin was probably more okay with it than Christen would have been if the roles were reversed.

{Christen}: **_I don’t know if I should be sorry or not…_ **

{Tobin Heath}: **_Oh, definitely not._ **

And with Tobin’s reply, Christen found herself reassured about the week they’d been having. And her feelings for the brown eyed woman. _I’ve never felt like this about anyone._

Christen had a thought then, of how nobody in her world knew anything about what she had been up to all week. Normally when she traveled for work, she would FaceTime her sisters or parents, filling them in on everything that was happening. She realized she’d been so wrapped up in Tobin that she kind of forgot to call anyone.

She decided not to feel bad about it, telling herself that this is what she has needed all along. A vacation from her real world, even if she was still working. The last three months had been rough on her mentally and she was happy to escape it all and live in this Italian fantasy, at least for a little while longer.

Christen sighed as she threw back the covers, filing her thoughts away again. She knew she and Tobin would need to talk about their situation soon, but Christen climbed out of bed not feeling a sense of dread for the first time in a while. That realization made her feel hopeful for the day ahead.

Tobin and her family spent the better part of the day inside the walls of Vatican City. Almost everyone agreed that their favorite part was the Sistine Chapel, where they spent time marveling at Michelangelo’s painted ceiling and taking in other famous artwork.

But St. Peter's Basilica would have been Tobin’s favorite. She found herself just standing there, staring at it in wonder. The majority of tourists were rushing around taking selfies and videos of the church, but Tobin just absorbed the sheer magnificence of it with her own two eyes.

Tobin was a big follower of Christianity, and while she was inside the church, she had a huge sense of serenity and peace flowing through her. It was unlike anywhere else she had ever been. She found herself hoping she’d be able to visit again someday.

When they were leaving, Tobin took one picture outside of the church, sending it to Christen as she had requested this morning. Tobin knew she would have loved it.

Tobin and Perry ditched the group before dinner, needing to head back to the hotel so Tobin could get ready for the Gala. Being the supportive big sister that she was, Perry offered to help.

They took their time getting Tobin ready. She was insistent on trying to look her best, having Perry curl her hair, while Tobin applied a good amount of makeup. She accentuated her eyes with some black eyeliner, something she didn’t use that often, looking for a little extra pop. Perry also let her borrow a gold necklace and a pair of earrings, dressing up her black gown a little more.

When they were both finished, Tobin felt elegant but still comfortable. She couldn’t wait to see what Christen was wearing, guessing that she would be as gorgeous as ever.

“You look great, Tobs.” Perry smiled proudly. “Have a great time with your woman tonight.”

Tobin shook her head, knowing Perry was trying to embellish this new thing as much as possible.

“Yea yea.. seriously, thanks for your help.” Tobin smiled, giving Perry a quick hug as she left the hotel room.

Christen had arranged for a driver to pick Tobin up, just after 7:00. She hopped into the back of a black town car and sent Christen a text, letting her know she was on her way.

{Tobin Heath}: **_Here I come. Can’t wait to see you_ **.

Christen got back to her quickly. She had just finished putting on her dress and curling her hair as well.

{Christen}: **_Perfect! Call me when you’re close, I’ll meet you outside._ **

Tobin tapped her fingers nervously on her leg almost the whole car ride out to the villa. She couldn’t even decide what she was nervous about. Maybe it was the fact that this was a work event of Christen’s that she would be making an impression at; or maybe it was just being dressed up and fancy in front of her for the first time.

Events like these weren’t usually Tobin’s forte, but she could feel how excited she was to be able to go tonight and support the woman she’d fallen for so quickly.

As Tobin’s driver was pulling down the long driveway lane, waiting in line for the numerous cars in front of them, Tobin called Christen, letting her know she was arriving.

Christen told her to get dropped off at the end of the line, where she would meet her and take her in a back door. That way she wouldn’t have to walk the red carpet that was set up for most of the guests and donors.

When Tobin stepped out of the town car, Christen was standing on the sidewalk waiting for her. They both were a little awestruck at the sight of each other.

Christen let her blindingly white teeth show widely as she took in Tobin’s appearance. “Hey you, you look amazing.” Christen complimented as she approached the older woman.

“Chris, you look.. unreal.” Tobin responded, just for Christen to hear. She felt her heart rate quicken. It seemed to be a running theme the last few days every time she saw Christen.

Christen was wearing a navy colored gown that had a high neckline and a mostly open back, except for the straps that crisscrossed over her shoulders. Her hair was curled perfectly and pinned to one side, flowing down over her right shoulder. Her makeup was done perfectly, looking chic and classy.

Tobin wasn’t sure what to do exactly, hesitating to move in for any kind of display of affection, not knowing if Christen would be okay with it in this professional setting. Christen seemed to understand Tobin’s thoughts, moving in first and wrapping her arms around Tobin’s neck. Tobin let herself relax at the contact.

“I’m glad you’re here.” Christen smiled again as she pulled away.

“Me too.” Tobin nodded. She took a minute to look around at everything happening around them. People were being ushered out of nice cars, standing in line to pose for photos on the red carpet.

Christen reached down for Tobin’s hand quickly, pulling her back towards the villa. “Come on, I wanna show you something before this starts.”

Christen walked Tobin inside, motioning for a staircase. They climbed up two flights of stairs, leaving behind all the people milling about in the lobby.

Tobin followed Christen out onto a balcony with a breathtaking view over the city of Rome. The sun was just setting off in the distance, lighting the sky in pinks and reds, perfectly fitting for this occasion. Christen walked them to the stone railing, looking out over the property and the vast city in front of them.

“How nice is this?” Christen smiled, turning to look at Tobin.

“It’s incredible. Tobin agreed as she looked out into the open. “Seriously, it kinda looks fake.”

Christen turned so her body was facing Tobin’s, drawing her attention away from the views for a moment. Tobin was happy to let her attention drift to the stunning woman next to her.

“I’m really glad you’re here with me tonight, Tobin.” Christen spoke softly, running her fingertips from Tobin’s shoulder all the way down her arm. The contact raised goosebumps on Tobin’s skin.

Tobin pulled Christen in closer, so their bodies were pressed up against each other, her hand resting at the small of Christen’s back.

“There is nowhere else in the world I’d wanna be.” Tobin responded honestly.

“Kinda feels like a fairytale, doesn’t it?” Christen questioned, turning her head to look out over the terrace again.

“Maybe even better..” Tobin let herself trail off. Christen smiled, turning back to Tobin and moving in slowly. Tobin just waited, letting Christen find her lips.

The kiss was passionate, Christen taking Tobin’s bottom lip in between her own first, before gently releasing it and then kissing her top lip. Tobin let her other hand find Christen’s waist as well, holding her close.

Christen didn’t rush, not wanting to mess up her makeup before she had to be on stage. The kiss only lasted a minute, but Christen knew as soon as they pulled away that it was her favorite kiss of theirs so far.

She kept her eyes closed for a moment, gradually opening them to see Tobin looking at her with adoration.

“Chris..” Tobin thought maybe now was a good time to tell her how she was feeling. Christen just looked at her quietly. “You’re so perfect.”

“I’m not, but you are.” Christen laughed, shrugging off Tobin’s compliment as she leaned in for another kiss.

“So, are you ready for your speech?” Tobin checked in quickly, making sure Christen felt calm and prepared.

“Yea, it’s as good as it’ll ever be.” Christen nodded. “I’m actually happy with how it turned out, so here’s hoping I deliver it well.”

“You will do great, I know it.” Tobin encouraged her.

Christen quickly looked her watch, realizing they needed to take their seats as it was almost time to start.

“As much as I’d love to stay up here all night, our ball awaits.” Christen laughed. She linked her hand with Tobin’s, pulling them back inside.

They made their way back downstairs, finding their assigned table near the back of the room. They ended up sitting with a few other people who worked at various UNICEF offices worldwide. Christen introduced Tobin to them, everyone giving her a friendly hello. Tobin guessed that Christen didn’t know any of them very well either, judging by their simple greetings.

The Gala started promptly, with the MC welcoming donors and guests as the wait staff served dinner and champagne. Tobin and Christen ate steak and vegetables while their table mates all told stories about where they’d come from in the world. The dinner was pleasant, and Tobin found herself having a good time.

After the dinner plates were cleared, the speeches were set to start. Christen was getting a bit nervous, squirming in her chair slightly. Tobin reached out to find Christen’s hand under the table, holding it while rubbing small circles with her thumb, trying to ease Christen’s nerves. They sat and watched as the first two speakers went, being attentive to their stories and words of wisdom.

Finally it was almost Christen’s turn. She gave Tobin’s hand a gentle squeeze, flashing her a small smile.

“You’re gonna kill it.” Tobin whispered.

“Wish me luck.” Christen took a deep breath.

Tobin squeezed her hand back, releasing it slowly. “Good luck.” She said with a smile.

Christen made her way to the side of the stage, waiting for the speaker ahead of her to wrap up. She glanced at her notes one last time. Tobin watched from a distance as Christen gave herself a pep talk, rehearsing a few words quietly under her breath.

Suddenly, Christen’s name was being announced by the MC.

 **Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome to the stage our West Coast Director for Child Relocation, Americas Division:** **_Christen Press._ **

There was a hearty applause for Christen as she climbed the few steps in front of her. Tobin smiled fondly, watching closely as Christen carefully navigated over some cords lying across the stage. _Please don’t fall._

Christen’s speech had everyone truly captivated. She spoke with such grace, about her work advocating for mental health support in third world countries. She also told the story of two young girls she met while on a humanitarian trip to Central Africa, who were now placed with loving families in North America.

Tobin was in awe of Christen. Not only in the way that she a pro at giving a speech, barely a hint of nervousness detectable in her tone; but also in the way Christen’s passion was evident for the work she did. Tobin felt proud of her as a person.

The speech lasted about five minutes, closing to another loud applause. Christen smiled sweetly at the audience and stepped down off the stage, locking eyes with Tobin. She let out a deep breath as soon as she handed the microphone back to the MC.

Tobin was giving her a huge smile in return, watching Christen walk towards her in the back of the room. Tobin stood up and gave Christen a hug when she got to the table.

“Chris, that was fantastic.” Tobin whispered into her ear. “I’m really proud of you.”

Christen blushed a little, shaking the last bit of nerves out of her hands before she sat down again. The next presenter was already starting to speak on stage. Everyone else they were seated with quietly offered their praise to Christen as well.

Luckily for Christen, when the speeches were over, her work for the Gala was finished. She could sit back and relax as the fundraising team set up the silent auction that was about to start.

Tobin got up to get them both another glass of champagne, noticing a man and woman standing and talking with Christen on her way back.

Tobin approached them a little apprehensively, not wanting to interrupt. Christen saw Tobin coming, giving her a smile as if to say _it’s okay,_ before taking her glass of champagne from Tobin.

“Anyway, that was really great, Christen.” The man was saying once Tobin registered the conversation. She smiled at the couple warmly.

“Thank you. I really appreciate it.” Christen responded kindly.

They were about to turn and walk away when the guy paused. “Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask you, where’s Ryan?” He was apparently unaware.

Christen’s face went a little red, caught off guard at the subject change. “Oh.. ah, we broke up.” Christen said awkwardly as she took a sip of her drink.

“What! We just saw him at the Christmas party.” The man continued to pry. “It must have been recent?”

Christen was losing interest in this conversation fast. Tobin could tell how uncomfortable Christen felt instantly, watching her almost recoil into herself.

“Yea, a couple months ago.” Christen gave minor details, but was trying to remain polite.

The man then turned his attention to Tobin, looking her over once with a curious look on his face. “Huh, I guess you moved on quickly.” He chided, looking between the two.

Christen had no idea what to say. She didn’t owe this guy an explanation. He seemed to finally sense how uncomfortable everyone was as they all fell silent.

“Well, again, nice job on the speech.” He raised his glass to Christen as a goodbye, turning to walk away next to the blonde lady he was with.

Christen didn’t look at Tobin, her expression unreadable. They both sat back down as the MC announced the Silent Auction was starting.

Tobin ran her hand over Christen’s back after a moment, trying to comfort her. Christen turned her head slightly to acknowledge Tobin’s gesture, but didn’t smile.

Tobin pulled her hand back from Christen and folded her hands together under the table, still watching Christen from her side profile. Christen was chewing away at her bottom lip, clearly lost deep in her thoughts.

The auction began and neither of them were paying attention. After a few minutes, Christen got up without saying anything to Tobin, heading for the exit near where they were sitting at the back of the room.

Tobin watched her go, worry creeping in as Christen left. Tobin knew Christen was bothered by what just happened. She could also tell this was all hitting Christen at once, this dream week they’d been having. It was all catching up to them at the completely wrong time.

The first interaction they had with someone from Christen’s real life had turned her completely upside down. How naive of them it was to assume they could get away with this without any consequences.

Everyone else at their table seemed to be intently focused on the auction. Tobin waited a few minutes, wondering if Christen was going to come back. Maybe she forgot something somewhere or had to use the bathroom. Tobin knew that wasn’t the case.

Finally in between auction items, Tobin got up and exited the room quietly, heading out the same door that Christen had gone out of a few minutes earlier.

Tobin looked around the back lobby area, not finding Christen anywhere. She continued walking, pushing the door open and moving outside. She could faintly see Christen slowly walking across the grass in the distance by herself.  

Tobin kicked off her heels and left them at the edge of the sidewalk. She hated walking in heels to begin with, and didn’t think she’d survive on an uneven lawn with them on.

Once she had her shoes off, she took off across the grass after Christen, jogging a few feet in her dress, trying to catch up.

“Christen, wait.” Tobin yelled out softly as she got closer. Christen didn’t turn around to face Tobin, she only slowed to a stop.

Tobin came up behind her, a little out of breath. She wasn’t sure what Christen was thinking or how to approach the conversation.

“Are you okay?” Tobin asked hesitantly, already knowing that the answer was no.

There wasn’t any response for a moment, as Tobin just stood there awkwardly.

“What are we even doing?” Christen asked suddenly through an unrecognizable tone. It wasn’t angry seeming to Tobin, it just sounded sad.

Tobin moved around Christen, standing in front of her now so they could look at each other, as Christen continued.

“This is crazy.” Christen motioned between them, her eyes a little watery. She was clearly affected by the conversation that she just went through inside. Her emotions spilling out now at the reminder of her last relationship.

Tobin felt a knot forming in her throat at Christen’s words.

“I’m leaving tomorrow night.” She said after another pause.

“I know that.” Was all Tobin could acknowledge. _Don’t remind me._

Christen put her hand over her eyes, shaking her head slightly. “I’m never this careless.”

Tobin felt the worry building up within her again. “What do you mean?”

“You live in Portland. I live in LA. Who knows if we’ll even see each other again?” Christen let her hand drop, finally met Tobin’s eyes for the first time. She looked away again quickly.

“I know, Chris. I know.” Tobin was trying to find the right words. “It’s not ideal, but it _is_ worth it. I know it is.”

They looked at each other again, Tobin’s eyes almost pleading with Christen.

Christen shook her head again in frustration with herself.  “I shouldn’t be doing this.” She uttered, running her hand over her hair.

Another moment of silence fell on them. Tobin waited until Christen was ready to speak.

“I’ll just end up hurting you, it’s what I do.”  Christen’s voice was so small.

Tobin scoffed at Christen’s words. “I don’t believe that.”

Christen wouldn’t meet Tobin’s eyes again, knowing the sadness she’d find in them.

Tobin couldn’t let her keep thinking this way, she needed the beautiful green eyed woman in front of her to know how she really felt.

“You know what? Who cares.” Tobin spoke up again, willing her voice not to shake. “I am standing here telling you that I want this. _I want you._ Yea, we have no idea how it will work out, but I’m telling you that I don’t care. I care about right now. And I want this. If you’re gonna break someone’s heart, it might as well be mine. Because you would be worth it.”

Christen almost had the gall to laugh, shaking her head again rapidly. “Why? You’ll just end up hating me for it.”

Tobin let out a laugh laced with sarcasm. “No I won’t.”

She moved closer to Christen again. “I’ve felt more alive with you this past week than I have in my whole life.” Tobin was trying to make her understand.

“So even if I do end up without you in the long run, I know that I will have zero regrets about this.”

“How can you be so sure?” Christen asked unconvinced.

Tobin noticed the way her shoulders were tensed up, like she was in the process of building a guard around herself.

“I just am..” Tobin had no explanation, other than what she could feel deep within herself. “And maybe you’ll end up surprising yourself.”

Christen didn’t say anything, processing Tobin’s words.

“Come on Chris.. reach-for-the-stars, over- the-fence, World Series kind of stuff, right _??”_  Tobin said again. She had been replaying that phrase in her head since Christen told her the story.

Christen let out a small laugh now, knowing how right Tobin was. That is what they had here and Tobin just played Christen’s cards back to her perfectly.

Tobin reached out for Christen. “Come here.”

Christen stood still for a moment, watching Tobin’s hands grab onto hers.

“Kiss me _, please_?” Tobin pleaded.

Christen sighed, finally holding eye contact with Tobin. She didn’t know what she could give Tobin in the future, but she could give her that. She wanted to.

Christen wiped her eyes, slowly stepping into Tobin. Tobin cupped her cheek gently, angling Christen’s head as their lips met perfectly. They both sighed into the kiss, like they did the first time it happened.

Christen could taste the familiarity on Tobin’s tongue as it moved into her mouth. She could taste the yearning she had for Tobin, not wanting to shut out her feelings just because of some fears.

When they pulled apart, Tobin spoke again. “Tell me you didn’t feel anything. Look at me and tell me you didn’t feel that spark and I will let you walk away right now.”

“You know I did.” Christen said weakly. “You know I _do_. I feel this.”

Tobin let out a breath she was holding, pulling Christen in again. “Then it’s worth it.”

They stood there in the middle of the grass holding onto each other for several minutes, neither of them wanting to break their grasp.

“I’m scared.” Christen admitted as her chin rested on Tobin’s shoulder.

“That’s okay.” Tobin reassured her again.

Christen lifted her head so she could look at Tobin.

“I don’t want to lose you.” Christen had made up her mind, deciding she was not going to run from this.

“You won’t.” Tobin was so positive. “I’m right here. I’m gonna be here for as long as you’ll have me.”

Christen ran her thumb along Tobin’s bottom lip before leaning in and giving her a soft kiss again. They looked at each other, feeling like this was the actual beginning of everything to come, good or bad.

“So.. if we’re going to try this.. What now?” Christen asked, trying to keep the hesitance out of her voice. She needed to know what to look forward to.

“Well, I have to be in LA in three weeks for National Team camp.” Tobin mentioned. “So that’s something.”

Christen nodded, already dreading three weeks apart. She placed a couple kisses to Tobin’s cheek.

“And the rest, we will figure out as we go.” Tobin let herself bask in the feeling Christen’s lips on her as she spoke. “We’ll make it work.”

Christen felt comforted again by Tobin’s undeniable belief in them, remembering what she had told herself this morning.

“Sorry I left you in there, I just got overwhelmed at that conversation.” Christen apologized. “I didn’t mean to be dramatic.” She offered Tobin an innocent smile.

“Please don’t apologize. We really needed to have this conversation anyway.” Tobin defended Christen’s actions.

“Yea we did.” Christen whispered against Tobin’s skin. “I'm glad you came after me.”

“Always, babe.” Tobin smiled at her favorite endearment.

Christen could listen to Tobin call her that forever.

“We should probably go back in there, I’m sure it’s almost over.” Christen realized they’d been gone for a while.

“Of course, lead the way.” Tobin nodded, dropping her arms from Christen so they could walk. They quickly joined hands again to cross the grass. Tobin remembered to grab her heels on the sidewalk, sliding them back on as they went back inside.

The auction only had a few items left, but Christen ended up bidding on a package for two monthly wine club memberships. It included two Italian wine subscriptions that would be delivered once a month to anywhere in the world.

It was a spendy item but Christen knew it was for an important cause, and she also had a good idea in mind of what to do with them.

Tobin’s eyebrows raised slightly when Christen won the bidding. Christen just shrugged her shoulders, leaning in to talk to Tobin.

“I’m gonna need your parents address.” She smiled.

“For what?” Tobin asked.

“One of these wine subscriptions.” Christen explained. “I figured it would be a good way to say thank you for everything they did for me all week.”

“Chris, you really don’t have to do that.” Tobin insisted. “They love doing this stuff.”

“Well, I owe them for creating such an amazing daughter too.” She joked.

“Ohh kay.. And you say I’m the dork..” Tobin laughed hard.

Christen rolled her eyes at her own cheesiness. “Sorry, I couldn’t pass that up.”

“Well that is an awesome gift, they’ll love it.” Tobin encouraged. “What are you gonna do with the other subscription?”

“I think I’m gonna give it to my parents.” Christen paused for a moment, smiling. “That way when I say _Surprise!_ and tell them about you, I’ll have a backup gift.. just in case.”

Christen watched as Tobin’s eyes got wide for a moment, processing what she said. “Oh my gosh, am I gonna be in trouble?” She asked only half serious.

“Nah, I have a feeling you all will get along just fine.” Christen reassured her with a hand on her thigh.

When the last bid was finished, Christen grabbed Tobin’s hand and stood up from their table, making a break for the back exit before anyone could stop them to say goodbye. On the way out of the room, they both grabbed one last flute of champagne, while sneaking back up to the balcony where they had gone when Tobin arrived.

Christen wanted one last look at the city from this view, loving how picturesque and romantic it felt. They stood at the railing, both slowly drinking their bubbly as Christen rested her head on Tobin’s shoulder. They could see the Roman landmarks just off in the distance, the domed churches and ancient Colosseum dimly lit just within eye sight.

“I can’t believe this is our last night.” Christen said quietly.

Tobin pulled back a little so Christen would look at her. “I can’t either.” Tobin agreed, not sad like she was before.

“Cheers.” Christen smiled, holding up her glass of champagne one more time. “To our next adventure.”

Tobin laughed and clinked her glass with Christen’s. “Cheers.”

“Can I take you to bed now?” Christen purred into Tobin’s neck.

Tobin felt the electricity in her bones again, not wasting any time to respond. “Yes please.”

When they finally made it to Christen’s room after their car ride, there was a new aura surrounding them. Christen turned the bedside lamp on, wanting to see Tobin as they undressed each other. She wanted to drink Tobin in, to be able to devour her thoroughly and commit her to memory. The way Tobin’s hands traced every inch of skin and the way her lips slowed at every pulse point. It wasn’t just lustful like the first time, it felt like more.

Neither of them got much sleep all night, taking their time with each other, trying to push away tomorrow for as long as they cold. Christen let her head fall back in pleasure after another round, holding onto Tobin like they could never be separated. Like they had lit a fire within each other that was just beginning to flicker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well we are approaching the end of the week.. 
> 
> I've been toying with the idea of continuing this after they go home. I'm not sure how good of an idea it is. Maybe I should just leave them in their Italian paradise? Let me know what you think! 
> 
> Thanks as always for all the positive feedback.


	8. Sunday ii

Sunday greeted Christen with a fatigued start. She was so tired from their minimal sleep the night before, staying up way too late, lost in the thrill of pleasure. By the time she awoke, it was mid morning and the sun was shining brightly through the windows.

Christen laid there for a moment, listening to the birds chirping outside, thinking of all the amazing things she had to say goodbye to today. She considered turning over and falling back asleep, but decided she didn’t want to waste any more of her last few hours that remained.

“Tobin.” Christen whispered into the silence. They were buried under a heap of covers, Tobin’s breathing steady, still in a deep sleep. Christen was lying mostly on top on her, their chests pressed together and their legs tangled wildly.

There was no response from Tobin for a moment. Christen lifted her head off of Tobin’s bare chest, angling her lips towards Tobin’s cheek. The soft peck of Christen’s lips interrupted Tobin’s sleep a little, as she turned her head against Christen’s.

“Tobin.” Christen said again, still holding her lips to Tobin’s skin.

“Hmmm?” Tobin hummed quietly, just starting to regain her senses.

Christen let Tobin wake up slightly before speaking again. It took a bit before her eyes were slowly fluttering open. Tobin registered Christen’s face, so close to her own, and smiled groggily.

“Babe.” Tobin said, closing her eyes again and running her hands down Christen’s bare torso. She let them come to a stop on Christen’s ass, pulling her body in even closer.

Christen felt a familiar surge of electricity run through her body as Tobin’s hands gripped her ass firmly. She placed another kiss to Tobin’s cheek before speaking again.

“Come shower with me.” Christen husked lowly.

Tobin let a mischievous smile break across her lips, using her strong hands to massage Christen’s ass for a moment. Although she was still half asleep, Tobin felt herself getting turned on by the suggestion of a shower. It didn’t matter that they were already laying on top of each other naked.

“A shower?” Tobin questioned in a sleepy tone. “You don’t have to get ready yet..”

Christen watched as Tobin yawned with her eyes still closed and then extended her arms and legs across the mattress into a big stretch. Once Tobin was satisfied, her hands blindly found Christen again.

Christen laughed at Tobin’s sleepy dramatics before she continued.

“I don’t wanna wait.” She asserted, regarding the shower. “I want you to hold me.”

Christen felt herself getting anxious, knowing how much she was going to crave Tobin’s touch while they were apart. “It’s going to be a while before we can do it again.”

Tobin opened her eyes again to find Christen’s. She wanted that too, she would always want to hold Christen. Giving in wasn’t even a question.

“Okay, babe.” Tobin smiled tiredly. Christen grinned like she had just won a prize as Tobin released her grip on the younger woman. Christen slid out of bed while Tobin rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Christen padded across the carpet towards the bathroom casually.

Tobin sat up and ran a hand over her bed head, watching Christen go; admiring her perfect body from behind. She slowly got out of bed too, following Christen diligently.

Christen turned on the shower, waiting as the water cascaded out of the giant waterfall shower head. She adjusted the setting so it was like little rain droplets were splashing down, before stepping in as the water got hot.

Tobin made it to the bathroom in time to laugh as Christen ducked under the water. She grabbed two towels from the towel rack and set them on the sink nearby, making sure the coldness wasn’t going to startle them when they were finished.

“Come here.” Christen smiled happily, reaching her hands out for Tobin. Tobin grabbed one of Christen’s hands and stepped into the shower as well, sliding the glass door shut behind her.

Without hesitation, Tobin wrapped her arms around Christen’s waist tightly, pulling their bodies as close together as possible. Christen grinned at the contact and dropped her face into the crook of Tobin’s neck, breathing in deeply. She felt herself reveling in the moment, so happy to be doing exactly this. Both of their heartbeats were racing a little faster again.

“Were you cold?” Tobin asked after a moment, wondering why Christen didn’t want to be held in the extra comfortable bed they had just left.

Christen shook her head no, speaking into Tobin’s neck. “I just like the shower. It feels so intimate in here.” She placed a kiss to Tobin’s collarbone before lifting her head to meet Tobin’s eyes.

Tobin just nodded, swallowing down a lump in her throat. She couldn’t agree more, feeling so exhilarated as she and Christen held onto each other.

They stood under the waterfall for a while, faintly rocking back and forth. Tobin was lost in thought as her eyes scanned the shower walls. Suddenly, she registered the two tiny bottles of shampoo and conditioner that she gave to Christen when they met. They were perched on the shelf in the corner.

“Hey!” Tobin said excitedly, pointing to them.

Christen lifted her head to see what Tobin was looking at. She started to laugh when she saw the travel sized products.

“Aww, the shampoo!” Christen chuckled, running her hands down Tobin’s back.

“I feel like I owe so much to those.” Tobin returned Christen’s laugh. “They gave me the perfect reason to talk to you.”

“And now look where we are..” Christen mused cheerfully.

“Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought this would happen.” Tobin responded with a smile.

She thought back to the way she found herself checking Christen out while they stood at the concierge desk that day. Before they had even made eye contact, Tobin could tell there was just _something_ about Christen.

They fell silent again as Christen lightly traced her hands up and down Tobin’s back, over and over. Tobin started to realize that one of her favorite things about Christen was how she showed affection so sweetly. Every touch felt like the perfect, loving move.

Christen quickly reached for the shower handle, turning it so the water got a little hotter. She then focused her attention back to Tobin, letting her mind run wild with thoughts of everything she wanted to do to her.

Christen made eye contact with Tobin for a moment before she leaned in for a kiss, slowly capturing Tobin’s bottom lip between her own. She sucked on it gently, before releasing it. Tobin responded in kind, parting her lips, while searching for Christen’s tongue.

Tobin could feel the rush of butterflies in her stomach as Christen’s tongue moved into her mouth expertly. Tobin was positive nobody else in the world could kiss like Christen could. The way she was so detailed and giving, it knocked the wind right out of Tobin every time.

When they pulled apart again, Christen leaned in to Tobin’s ear, whispering sensually.

“Tobin.” Christen breathed a little heavily, short of breath from a mixture of their kiss and being so turned on. “I want to try something.”

Tobin nodded slightly, not even caring to ask what it was that Christen wanted to try. She trusted her to do what she pleased.

Christen started to kiss down Tobin’s neck, pausing at her left collarbone, where she bit down gently. Tobin moaned at the stinging sensation before Christen ran her tongue over it, soothing it again.

She then let her tongue explore down to Tobin’s breast, kissing it softly before sucking lightly on her nipple, only for a moment. Tobin felt her hands grip Christen a little firmer from the pleasure.

Christen released Tobin’s hardened nipple and continued south, bending her knees as she trailed a path down Tobin’s toned stomach, taking her time planting kiss after kiss.

Christen reached her stopping point, kneeling on the shower floor, while looking up at Tobin with hooded eyes. She kept her hands steadily gripped on Tobin’s hips, making sure they didn’t shake with nerves. Tobin watched her, speechless, waiting for Christen to make her next move.

“I want to try...” Christen spoke again, pausing for the right words while holding eye contact with Tobin. “I want to taste you.”

Tobin swallowed thickly at Christen’s words. She had been dying to feel Christen’s mouth on her.

“Is that okay?” Christen asked, a slight hint of wonder in her tone.

“Yes.” Tobin replied, barely loud enough for Christen to hear over the falling water. She then nodded, making sure Christen understood.

“Will you talk me through it?” Christen waited for another nod of confirmation from Tobin. “Tell me what you like. I want to make you feel good.”

Tobin ran her hand over Christen’s wet hair lovingly. She noticed her own hand had a small shake to it as well, realizing she was vaguely nervous. Tobin hoped that Christen understood that no matter how or where she touched her, it would be perfect.

“Babe.” Tobin whispered, nodding again so Christen knew that her answer was yes.

Tobin’s back blocked the water from Christen as her hands ran up Tobin’s thighs purposefully. She gripped them firmly and nudged Tobin’s legs apart a little. Christen then trailed her right hand in, running it over Tobin's inner thigh and finding her center, before applying pressure with her palm. Christen paid close attention to Tobin’s response, biting her bottom lip as Tobin moaned softly at the contact of Christen’s hand.

Christen pulled her hand back slightly, just for a moment, before running her fingers through Tobin’s folds once. She could feel how wet Tobin was, even with the water rushing down around them.

Tobin let her eyes shut momentarily, wanting her senses to feel everything, before Christen pulled her out of her trance again.

“Tobin.” Christen requested, her tone a little more confident. “Will you look at me?”

Tobin willed her eyes to open again, looking down to meet Christen’s eyes. Once Christen had the eye contact she was looking for, she removed her fingers from Tobin, and placed her hands back on Tobin’s thighs to balance herself, before slowly leaning in.

Tobin felt the sparks of Christen’s tongue as it slowly ran through her center once. She tried to maintain as much eye contact as possible, but Tobin found herself struggling to keep her eyes open. Desperately wanting to close them as the pleasure was rushing through her. Christen was just as detailed with her tongue this time as she was any time it moved in Tobin’s mouth.

When Christen got to Tobin’s clit, she flicked it lightly with her tongue, sucking on it briefly before pulling back to look up at Tobin’s face. Christen felt even more confident after she saw the pleasure written on it.

She leaned back in again and did the same path with her tongue, letting herself really explore for the first time. She didn’t pull back right away after the second pass, feeling like she was getting the hang of it.

Tobin was encouraging her with rapid moans. The only sounds she was coherent enough to make. Christen loved hearing the sound of them.

She released her grip on Tobin’s thigh with her right hand again, bringing it back to Tobin’s center, and sliding two fingers inside of Tobin. She continued working her tongue, earnestly running it through her folds again and again as her fingers worked against Tobin’s walls.

Tobin could feel her legs getting weak, shaking slightly from the pleasure. She gripped the back of Christen’s head with one hand, while finding the wall of the shower with the other, needing some additional support so she didn’t collapse. She was so close to coming.

“Fuck. Chris.” Tobin moaned loudly through a quick breath.

Christen made one final pass with her tongue before sucking on Tobin’s clit again, so slowly, as her fingers danced inside of Tobin. She felt Tobin start to contract, sucking a little firmer as Tobin let out another string of moans, her wetness spilling out now.

Christen did her best to lap up Tobin’s moisture as it poured out, swallowing once before needing to pull back for a breath.

“Oh.. fuck.” Tobin said again with her head thrown back, gasping for air as she came down from her orgasm. When Tobin finally stopped shaking, Christen placed a kiss to both of Tobin’s thighs and slowly removed her fingers from inside of Tobin.

Tobin felt weak at the loss of contact, barely able to stand any longer. Christen could sense her struggle, standing back up gently to pull Tobin in. Christen held onto her so Tobin could relax against her. Her eyes were still shut tightly in satisfaction.

“Oh my god, babe.” Tobin said after another heavy breath, opening her eyes now to find Christen.

Christen hugged Tobin even tighter, feeling insanely turned on by making Tobin come. She grinned to herself, also feeling a little proud of her work.

Tobin’s face ended up buried in Christen’s neck again, trying to slow her heart rate. Finally she took another breath and lifted her head to look at Christen’s face.

“How was that?” Christen asked anxiously. She was hoping Tobin enjoyed it as much as she did.

“So amazing.” Tobin answered truthfully. “I can still feel it.”

Tobin found herself lost in her thoughts again, going over a mental list of all the things she loved about Christen. They were silent for a minute, holding onto each other before Tobin spoke again.

“Chris..” She said softly, her forehead back to resting on Christen’s shoulder.

“Yea?” Christen asked intently.

Tobin placed one kiss to Christen’s shoulder before speaking softly.

“I’m in love with you.”

There was another quick moment of silence, before Tobin slowly lifted her head for Christen’s reaction. The dark haired girl opened her mouth to speak, but Tobin stopped her.

“I don’t want you to say anything back.” Tobin gently clarified.

Christen just nodded.

“And it’s not because of how great that just felt..”

They both laughed a little, which was a relief to Tobin. She paused before speaking again.

“I think I have felt it since the moment I met you.” Tobin continued. “And I promise I won’t say it again, for now, but I just wanted you to know.”

Christen leaned in and found Tobin’s lips with her own again, kissing away any doubts that may have been building within Tobin. Christen may not have been ready to say it back right now, but she knew that the same feelings were blooming inside of her as well.

The feelings they had for each other weren’t just regular _crush_ feelings. It was way more than that, it had been from the start. Since they watched the fireworks next to each other on the night they met. Normally moving this fast with anyone would have freaked Christen out, but she just knew this was right.

“Tobs.” Christen whispered after they pulled away. “This may not be what people usually want to hear when someone says that but.. thank you.”

Tobin smiled a little.

“I mean that in the best way.” Christen continued with a smile. “Thank you for pulling these feelings out of me. For making me feel excited about life again. You’ve done so much for my happiness this week, and I don’t think I can even begin to explain that to you.”

Tobin felt that lump in her throat return as Christen continued.

“Just because I can’t say it back right now doesn’t mean I don’t feel it. This thing with us, I know that it’s real.” Christen finished.

“Yea.. it really is.” Tobin confirmed Christen’s words, before they kissed again.

They both went quiet again, letting the heavy words fall away for now, knowing that down the line they would revisit the conversation. Christen could already tell it wouldn’t be that long from now.

They finally got a little more active under the water, helping each other wash their hair and actually finishing showering. They playfully let their hands roam over each other for a little while longer. Finally their wrinkled fingers slowed as the water turned barely lukewarm, deciding it was time to end the shower. Tobin grabbed Christen’s chin and brought her in for one more kiss, before turning the shower off and opening the glass door.

Tobin climbed out first, reaching for the towels she had put on the sink. She wrapped one around Christen’s shoulders before grabbing her own. They dried off quickly, trying to avoid that after shower chill, and headed back into the room to get dressed.

Christen remembered that Tobin only had her dress from the night before with her, offering the brown eyed girl some clothes.  “I have a t-shirt and shorts you can throw on.”

“Cool.” Tobin nodded, waiting as Christen threw her a red t-shirt and a black pair of gym shorts. Tobin held up the shirt and read it. _Stanford_.

“Ughhh.” Tobin audibly groaned. Christen thought she may get that reaction, laughing lightly at Tobin’s expression.

“What, it’s a good school!” Christen shrugged, playing innocent.

“I’m only putting this on because it’s yours.” Tobin laughed, tugging the shirt on over her head.

Christen looked at her for a minute, smiling as Tobin looked at herself in the mirror, pushing her wet hair over her shoulder.

“You look really hot in it.” Christen winked. She loved seeing Tobin in her clothes.

“Thanks, babe.” Tobin smiled, turning around to face Christen again.

Christen got dressed in a casual tank top and shorts, blow drying her hair quickly as Tobin watched. They would make eye contact in the mirror every so often, smiling and making goofy faces at each other.

Once Christen appeared ready for the day, Tobin thought it was time they made a plan. “Wanna grab some food?”

“Yes please, I’m starving.” Christen agreed.

“We just have to stop by my room so I can _actually_ get dressed.” Tobin paused and looked down at her outfit sarcastically while smiling. “And then there is somewhere I want to take you.”

Christen grabbed her purse and sunglasses as they exited her hotel room. They quickly stopped off at Tobin’s room so she could change into something a little more presentable than a t-shirt and gym shorts.

When Tobin took off Christen’s Stanford shirt, she folded it up nicely and threw it on top of her suitcase nonchalantly, like Christen wouldn’t notice.

Christen wasn’t going to let it go unmentioned. “Oh so now you like it enough to keep it?” She gave Tobin a big smile.

“I didn’t say I liked it..” Tobin casually defended herself.

“Why is it in your luggage then?” Christen raised her eyebrow curiously.

“Think of it as a hostage situation, you’ll get it back when you let me see you again.” Tobin explained with a sly smile.

Christen laughed, stepping into Tobin. “You don’t have to take hostages, I would want to see you anyways. I’m already dying without you.”

Tobin placed a kiss to Christen’s lips. “Also, it smells like you. So I am keeping it.”

Christen furrowed her brow a little. “Hey. No fair.”

Tobin looked at her quizzically. _It’s just a t-shirt._

“If you get one of my shirts, I get one of yours.” Christen reasoned. “I need a new sleep shirt now that you’re keeping that one.”

Tobin grinned, pulling away from Christen and walking back towards her suitcase. She kneeled down and rummaged through it quickly, finding a clean t-shirt from the bottom of her bag.

“Alright, here.” She said, tossing it to Christen.

Christen caught it, unfolding it so she could read what it said. It was an old US Soccer t-shirt, with _Heath 17_ printed on the back. Christen smiled excitedly.

“You’re right, fair is fair.” Tobin smiled, standing up and walking back towards Christen.

It was a small gesture, but it comforted both of them, knowing they now had a tiny piece of each other to hold onto while they were apart.

“Perfect.” Christen rolled the shirt up and put it in her purse, before they both headed out the door, finally ready to head to brunch.

While Tobin was out on a jog this week, she ran past a cool looking restaurant that she thought seemed interesting. It was an airy loft space with glass walls and a glass ceiling. She paused her run to look at the menu displayed on the outside of the building, finding out it was mostly French and Italian cuisine that did breakfast and lunch. She was now glad she remembered it, knowing it would be a great place to take Christen to.

Once they got to the restaurant they took their time, sitting at a small table in the corner of the restaurant, secluded from most people. They sipped on coffee first and then mimosas, while working out some more logistics of their time apart, as they waited for their food.

“So, you said you have to be in LA in three weeks?” Christen asked, taking a sip of her drink.

“Yea, camp starts on that Sunday.” Tobin nodded. “I guess that’s exactly three weeks from today.” Tobin thought out loud. “So hopefully I’ll be able to come down on Friday of that week. It depends on preseason training.”

Tobin only had a few days left when she got back to Portland before the Thorns preseason camp was starting. There was a tournament scheduled with games ending the Thursday before National Team camp. Tobin was pretty certain she could leave Portland the following day, without missing an additional day of practice, before meeting up with the National Team.

Christen pulled out her iPhone, looking at the calendar. “Okay, so that’s 21 days from today.” She quickly counted. “19 if you can come down Friday.”

“19 days.” Tobin nodded. “We got this, babe.”

Tobin reached her hand across the table to find Christen’s. “And in the meantime, I’m going to annoy you _so_ much with my FaceTime calls. You’ll be sick of me in no time.”

She was trying to keep the mood light, wanting this day to be as happy as all the others had been.

“I don’t think I could get sick of your face.” Christen laughed. “It’s too dang cute.”

The waitress brought their order out a moment later. She set down a plate of croissants and pastries with different flavored jams, and a bowl of fresh fruit. They had decided to share everything, eating happily while the conversation flowed effortlessly again.

“What day do you have to be back in the office?” Tobin questioned, realizing that with the overnight travel and jetlag, it would be impossible for Christen to go right back to work on Monday.

“I think Wednesday I’ll probably go in.” Christen commented between bites. “They gave me two comp days for travel and said I could have more if I needed.”

Christen took a bite of another croissant as she paused her words.

“Oh my god, try this.” She urged Tobin immediately. “It’s really good.” Christen held the pastry across the table.

“So good!” Tobin agreed excitedly after biting off a piece of it. “I’m really going to miss this food.”

They continued to eat until everything was gone.

When the plate was empty and their coffees finished the waitress brought the check to the table.

Tobin swooped in and grabbed it before Christen could.

“Tobin..” Christen started to protest. Tobin just ignored her, pulling out her debit card.

“Fine, but I am taking you out to dinner so many times in LA.” Christen crossed her arms. Tobin smiled at her silently.

“I love this.” Tobin said as she signed the check.

Christen looked at her. “What?”

“You and I, making plans.” Tobin answered. “You can take me to dinner in LA. I’m just happy that we have that to look forward to.”

“I am too.” Christen smiled.

Tobin dropped the receipt on the table and stood up, reaching her hand out for Christen’s again. They linked their hands together gently, turning to walk out of the restaurant.

The couple casually strolled back to the hotel, basking in the warm midday sun that was shining down on them. Neither of them had gotten over how old and historic the city felt, absorbing the sights and people around them as they walked back. It was so different from where they had grown up.

When they got back, Christen only had an hour until she needed to check out of her room and she needed to finish packing. Tobin suggested that she just bring her suitcase and belongings down to her room until it was time to head to the airport.

Tobin sat on the bed as Christen kneeled on the ground, folding all of the clothes perfectly, before doing one last pass through her room, making sure nothing was forgotten. She had to sit on top of her suitcase as she zipped it shut, packed extra full from the shopping she did when she first arrived. Tobin laughed hard at her the whole time, not offering any help as Christen struggled.

Finally when the suitcase was closed, Christen sighed. She looked up at Tobin and bit her bottom lip again. “This is kinda sad.” She said softly. “We made a lot of good memories in this room.”

Tobin stood up off the bed and offered her hand to Christen, pulling her up so they were both standing.

“We did. Best hotel room I’ve ever had the _pleasure_ of staying in.” Tobin smirked, emphasizing that word. “But, only better things to come.”

Christen nodded, placing a quick kiss to Tobin’s lips. “Okay, I’m gonna run down to the front desk and check out.”

Tobin picked up Christen’s suitcase and backpack, telling her she’d bring them to her room and wait for Christen to come back up.

It took Christen a bit to get checked out, needing to wait on a receipt so she could expense it on her work credit card, but finally she was knocking on Tobin’s door again.

Tobin opened the door for Christen, as her parents and siblings were hanging out in her room. They were waiting on Christen so they could all say goodbye. Christen smiled happily as she saw them all. She really did love getting to know them over the course of the week.

Tobin’s family didn’t stay long, knowing that Tobin would be annoyed if they took up too much of their remaining time.

Perry gave Christen a warm hug as her and Taylor left. “See ya, Christen.” She said cheerfully, giving the dark haired woman a look, knowing that she would see her again.

Cindy was next to pull Christen into a hug, speaking over her shoulder. “Christen, it was great getting to spend time with you this week.”

“You too.” Christen said honestly. “Thank you again for everything.”

“I suspect we may just run into each other again.” Cindy winked.

Tobin’s mom hadn’t talked to her much about her feelings for Christen like Perry had, but Cindy could also tell there was something obviously happening between the two.

“I really hope so.” Christen grinned at her words. _Family holidays?_

Jeff was the last one to hug Christen. “Don’t be a stranger”, he said cheerfully.

And just like that, they opened the door and were gone, leaving Tobin and Christen alone again.

Christen turned around slowly as the hotel door closed all the way. She looked at Tobin, before closing the gap between them. Tobin had her arms outstretched, waiting for the contact of Christen’s body to hit her.

“They’re going to miss you.” Tobin smiled into Christen’s hair.

“I’m going to miss them too. You’re family is seriously the best.” Christen agreed, feeling sad to see them go.

Tobin and Christen spent the last hour they had together making out on the bed. When the kissing got too passionate, they would slow down and just cuddle for a while, before finding their lips crashing into each other again. It was a rapid cycle of making sure they didn’t go too far with their time running out.

Just under an hour later, Christen’s phone rang on the end of the bed, the call they were trying to wish away, finally coming. It was her driver, letting Christen know he’d be there in ten minutes, ready to take her to the airport.

Tobin swallowed down the sadness bubbling up inside of her. She wanted to be strong in front of Christen and not make this any harder than it had to be.

When Christen dropped the phone on the bed again, she crawled back up to Tobin, not wasting any time to straddle her again. They shared another long kiss, Christen letting her tongue roll into Tobin’s mouth over and over. When she pulled away they were both breathing rapidly, like they had so many times throughout the week.

“Babe.” Tobin whispered. She ran her hand up to Christen’s face, moving the hair that had fallen down over her eyes.

“I don’t wanna go.” Christen frowned, stopping her words quickly so she could push down a few tears she felt edging to the surface.

“I really don’t want you to go.” Tobin insisted, her voice sounding so small and sad.

Christen took a deep breath. She knew she had to leave now, not wanting to make her driver wait for her.

“Tobin.” Christen leaned in and placed another kiss to her lips. “I am going to pick up my stuff and kiss you one more time and then leave.”

Tobin was lying under Christen silently, listening to her speak.

“If you come down there with me, I won’t get in that car.” She continued.

“This isn’t goodbye.” Tobin finally said through a weak voice. “Three weeks, baby.”

Christen nodded. She kissed Tobin again. “Three weeks.”

Christen then cleared her throat, feeling her eyes water. She slid off of Tobin and stood up off the bed. Christen bent down and grabbed her purse and backpack, slinging them both over her shoulder as one tear ran down her cheek. She was facing away from Tobin, not wanting her to see the sadness.

“Chris.” Tobin spoke again through a thick voice.

Christen had no other options, turning around to face Tobin as her eyes watered some more.

“Oh babe. Don’t cry.” Tobin immediately stepped into Christen, pulling her into a tight hug. After a moment, Tobin pulled her face back, moving her fingers up to Christen’s cheek, wiping away the second tear that was rolling slowly down her cheek.

Christen nodded, forcing herself to pull it together. “I should go..”

“Yea.” Tobin said sadly. She leaned in and placed a long peck to Christen’s lips, before Christen backed up one step.

Christen grabbed the handle of her rolling suitcase, extending it so she could roll it away. Tobin slowly followed her to the door, opening it so Christen could exit.

When Christen was out the hallway, she turned around one last time, looking Tobin right in the eyes. “See you soon.” She tried to smile. Tobin grabbed her face again and leaned in for a last kiss.

“See you.” Tobin nodded.

She stepped back a half a step, letting Christen back up and head down the hall. Christen didn’t look back until she made it to the elevator bank. She looked down the hall and saw Tobin leaning against the door frame, just like she had that day when she gave Christen the shampoo, watching her go.

Tobin gave her a smile and a small wave from the distance, not risking any other words with how fragile her voice had become.

Christen waved and returned the smile, stepping into the elevator and out of sight of Tobin.

Christen took the elevator down to the lobby, walking through it slowly and trying to lock all of the details in her mind. She found herself thanking this magical place as she exited the sliding doors, finding her town car waiting, just outside in the drop off lane.

“Ciao, miss.” The friendly driver said, “Airport?”

Christen nodded with a smile, knowing if she spoke her voice would crack with sadness. The driver took her luggage and loaded it into the trunk as Christen slid into the backseat.

The driver didn’t bother much with questioning Christen, clearly aware of her sadness. They drove through the end of the city, passing the same landmarks and monuments that Christen had on her first cab ride, ten days ago. How different her life was then.

Christen had pushed away her sadness a little as she thought about her favorite things from the week. Their kiss in the rain, the way Tobin beamed at her as she was on stage at the Gala. Christen found herself smiling at it all. Tobin had that effect on her.

The driver could tell Christen’s mood was lightened a little, looking at her through the rearview mirror. He spoke up finally, trying to make a little conversation.

“You see the Colosseum over on the right.” The man pointed out the window at it. “You had a chance to visit it, sì?”

He figured that every tourist made a trip to the ancient amphitheater while in Rome. It was the city’s most famous landmark.

Christen looked out the window as they passed it. “Actually no.” She said, a little regretfully. “I didn’t get the chance.”

The man just hummed, paying attention to the road again. Christen let her mind run for a moment. _I came all the way to Rome and didn’t see the Colosseum._ She felt herself panic all the sudden.

“Wait!” Christen said before she could contemplate her words.

The man looked in the rearview mirror again at the woman in the backseat. “Is everything okay miss?” He questioned in a friendly tone.

“No actually.” Christen responded kindly. “Could you please turn around?”

The man was confused. “Did you forget something?”

“Yea..” Christen said, not wanting to explain. “Something like that.”

The man did what she asked, pulling off at the next exit and heading back towards the hotel he had just picked Christen up from. Christen was bouncing her knees nervously in the backseat. She wasn’t sure what she was doing exactly, deciding to figure it out as she went.  

After a few minutes, they were pulling back into the hotel driveway. The man stopped in front of the doors and Christen opened her door quickly.

“Thank you. I have to wait.” She said, not explaining what was happening. “Can you charge my card for the trip?”

“You are staying?” The man asked again with no idea as to what was going on.  
  
“Yes, thank you so much for the ride.” Christen offered.

The man popped the trunk again and pulled her luggage out, setting it on the sidewalk kindly for her. Christen made sure the man would charge her credit card on file and email her a receipt, before she was pulling her luggage back inside.

She didn’t waste any time, heading right for the elevators again. She pressed floor 7 and bounced nervously as the elevator took her up.

When the doors opened, she quickly exited the elevator car, pulling her luggage for a few steps before dropping the big suitcase and backpack and jogging the remaining steps to Tobin’s door.

Christen took a deep breath as she knocked loudly on Tobin’s door. There was no answer for a second.

Tobin was on the other side of the door, lying on her bed with her hand over her eyes, begging herself to make the tears stop. She had been in that same position since Christen stepped into the elevator. Her eyes now red and puffy.

Christen knocked again impatiently, as Tobin got up and made her way to the door. She prepared herself to yell at whichever family member it was that was bothering her. She just wanted to be alone in her sadness for a little while longer.

Tobin wiped the tears out of her eyes with her palms before she opened the door quickly. Her eyes went wide with confusion as she registered who was standing on the other side of it.

“Chris?” Tobin said out loud in a confused tone.

Christen wasted no time, launching herself at Tobin, her arms wrapping around Tobin’s shoulders instantly. Tobin pulled her in without thinking, following her instincts.

“What are you doing here?” Tobin asked into Christen’s hair.

Christen spoke into Tobin’s neck, her words a little muffled.

“Can you believe I came all the way to Rome, and was going to leave without seeing the Colosseum?” She asked, mostly as a rhetorical question.

“What?” Tobin asked, clearly not understanding.

“The Colosseum.” Christen started to explain. Tobin pulled back from the hug to look at Christen’s face.

“My driver.. he asked me if I went. And then I realized how insane it would be to come all this way and not go. I mean it’s like one of the most important landmarks in the world. I was planning on going, before I met you..  And what if I never get another chance to see it? I couldn’t leave knowing that was a possibility.” Christen was rambling now.

Tobin was nodding, catching up with Christen’s explanation, still in shock that she was standing in front of her again.

“So you’ll go with me right?” Christen asked to Tobin’s silence. She didn’t let herself think, knowing she would realize how crazy this was. “Tonight, we can go.”

“Ah yea. Yes of course.” Tobin smiled, shaking her head slightly, still trying to rid the surprise from it.

Christen just laughed, pulling Tobin into her. The stood in the doorway for a moment with their lips pressed together.

“I seriously can’t believe you’re back.” Tobin whispered against Christen’s lips, finally getting her brain to process it a little. Christen didn’t pull away, just nodded, confirming Tobin’s words.

Tobin slid her arms around Christen’s waist, lifting her up quickly and carrying her into the hotel room. She made it to the bed before she laid Christen down, climbing on top of her and kissing her urgently.

Christen paused after a moment of Tobin’s lips on hers. “Wait, Tobs.”

“Hmm?” Tobin said, not wanting to stop at the moment.  

“My bags.” Christen laughed, remembering her luggage was still down the hallway where she left it.

Tobin leaned back onto her knees, looking around. “Where are they?”

“Down the hallway.” Christen smiled. “They were weighing me down.”

Tobin laughed, moving off of Christen and standing up. She went to the door, opening it to retrieve the bags quickly, walking back into the room with them a few moments later.

“Also, I just realized I don’t have a room anymore.” Christen mentioned as Tobin came back through the door. “So.. maybe I could stay in here with you tonight?” She questioned, already knowing the answer.

“Chris.” Tobin just smiled. “Of course you’re staying with me.” It was never even a question.

Tobin set the bags down and walked back to the bed, climbing on top of Christen slower this time, holding eye contact the whole way.

“I know I already said this, but I really can’t believe you're back.” Tobin said again, her face just above Christen’s. “I was so sad when you left.”

“Me too.” Christen said, lifting her head to connect her lips to Tobin’s again.

They kissed for a bit before Tobin pulled back again, falling off of Christen and onto the bed.

“So, you and me. Colosseum date tonight?” Christen asked, grabbing Tobin’s hand as they laid next to each other. “They do night tours you know. It looks very romantic.” She smiled lovingly.

“Yea. It’s a date.” Tobin nodded, squeezing Christen’s hand.

Christen grabbed her phone and booked two tickets for the late night tour, before rolling back into Tobin again.

Before they left, Christen did the responsible thing and called the airline, changing her ticket to the following day. It cost her a couple hundred dollars, but she couldn’t care less. One more night in this city with the brown eyed girl she was falling in love with was well worth it.  

The Colosseum night tour turned out to be the most amazing thing either of them did on their trip. They met up with a small group and one tour guide, who guided them through the underground area of the arena. The place where animals and gladiators awaited their turn to fight hundreds of years ago. Christen had goosebumps trying to imagine what it would have been like back then.

When they were done seeing the holding areas, the group was ushered through the tunnels with a guard. He unlocked the gates for them, showing them the iconic walkway onto the floor. Tobin felt like she was starring in Gladiator.  

When the gates were opened the guard smiled, urging them to walk out onto the arena floor. Everyone looked between each other for a moment, before making their way out to the open area.

Tobin grabbed Christen’s hand as they entered the arena, two of the first people to do so. It was stunning, how quiet and empty the amphitheater was around them. It was almost chilling.

Tobin released Christen hand and jogged a few steps ahead of her and the rest of the group before turning around and spreading her arms out wide, yelling as loud as she could. “Are you not entertained!?”

Everyone laughed, recognizing the famous words from the movie. Christen blushed a little, feeling herself fall a little harder for Tobin in that moment. _She’s mine._

It really felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity, seeing this grand historical masterpiece in all of its glory, dimly lit up against the dark night sky. There was nobody else in the world that they would have wanted to experience it with, but each other.

Christen always believed that things happened when it was time for them to happen. Tobin storming into her life so unexpectedly was proof of that. Christen was swept off her feet and there was no looking back. Her whole world was changed in just ten days.

As Christen fell asleep in Tobin’s arms that night, something important dawned on her. She now understood that happiness comes from being who you actually are, instead of pretending to be who you are _supposed_ to be. She let her eyes close, finally feeling like she had found herself. And although this real life Italian dream was coming to a close, it wasn’t the end. Because no matter the situation, happy endings don’t happen in the middle of the story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Their time in Italy has come to a end. What a ride.
> 
> It really has been so fun to write this.
> 
> There will be another part, I'm just not sure if it will end up being a long epilogue or a new multi-chapter story. I have to see how creative I can get.
> 
> Thoughts? Feelings? Happy ending stories? 
> 
> Thanks for reading, ya'll.


	9. Welcome back, stranger..

Christen walked out of baggage claim and into the familiar, warm California air. Although she missed Italy and all of it’s brilliance already, she found herself happy to be home. Her flight back to the States had been surprisingly easy, landing at LAX on time for once.

She was tired from the overnight flight, which connected through JFK, but she wasn’t bothered by the lack of sleep. She passed the time in the air by writing in her journal, recounting her week now that she had an opportunity to process everything.

It was a habit of hers, to write in her journal almost daily, but it was something that had gotten pushed aside while she was wrapped up in her week with Tobin.

There were so many good memories to write down. She started at the beginning of the week and went day by day, filling up several pages with ease. By the time she was done, she couldn’t believe all of the things she got to experience. Most of which she hadn’t planned for going into the trip.

Christen’s sister, Tyler, had volunteered to pick Christen up at the airport and take her home. They didn’t live far from each other and it was on Tyler’s way home from work, so it worked out perfectly.

Tyler was waiting in the arrivals lane, right on time. She honked once from her black Mercedes when she saw Christen walk out of the airport, trying to get her little sister’s attention. Christen waved when she recognized the car, walking to it quickly and throwing her stuff in the trunk.

“Hey!” Christen said cheerfully as she slid down into the passenger seat.

“Welcome back, stranger.” Tyler smiled, leaning over the center console to give Christen a hug. The cars behind them were honking impatiently, waiting for them to move along. Tyler aggressively waved her hand out the window at them and pulled out of the parking lane.

She concentrated on driving until she made it out of the airport all together. Traffic was it’s usual crazy self tonight in LA. The sisters sat in silence for a bit until they were safely pulling onto the 405 freeway.

“So.. tell me about the trip!” Tyler asked excitedly. She hadn’t heard from Christen at all while she was gone, and she wanted to know everything that had happened.

“It was really, really great.” Christen smiled genuinely, thinking back on it for the hundredth time since she left.

“That’s awesome!” Tyler said enthusiastically. “You must have killed it. How’d the speech go?”

Christen launched into describing her speech, explaining how well it was received from the audience and how happy she had been with it. Tyler had helped her write the first few drafts of it before she left for Europe, offering helpful input when Christen would get stuck or run out of words.

Christen promised Tyler that she would get a recording of it this week at work and email it over for her to watch. Christen was beaming with happiness the whole time she talked.

Tyler kept glancing at Christen as she drove, noticing how light and smiley she seemed. Tyler couldn’t put her finger on it, but something seemed different about her younger sister.

Finally after the fifth or sixth glance in her direction without any words, Christen was curious as to what was up.

“What?” She asked, pausing her words and looking over at Tyler. “Why do you keep looking at me?”

“Nothing!” Tyler smiled. “I don’t know you just seem… different. Happier.” She explained. I can’t really decide what it is.

Christen laughed at her sister’s words.

“You kind of seem like a new person from the one who left here eleven days ago.” Tyler continued. She didn’t mean any offense by it, it was just an observation.

“Oh.. yea. I guess I am happy.” Christen nodded. “Like I said, it was a good week.”

“Yea, you did said that!” Tyler laughed a little louder. “Spill, Chris. What the heck were you up to. Ya know, it would have been nice to hear from you at least once.”

Christen felt a little bad. “I know, I’m sorry! It was just really hectic and busy. The week kind of got away from me.” Christen defended herself.

“I figured it would be crazy, which is why I left you alone.” Tyler answered, looking in her mirrors as she changed lanes.

“So work was good? And you had to delay your flight another day.. Did you get to do anything fun? Like sightseeing or anything?” Tyler continued to ask.

Christen bit her lip, knowing it was only a matter of time before she had to explain her whole week; who she spent her time with and what she did. Part of her wanted to hang on to it a little longer, but she was also dying to talk about it with Tyler. They had always been super close.

“Yea, there was quite a bit of sightseeing.” Christen started. She looked out her window, keeping her voice as casual as possible. “I actually kind of met someone..”

Tyler was only slightly paying attention to the road, looking over at Christen. “You met someone!” She practically yelled in excitement.

“Yea.” Christen just nodded, turning to look at Tyler.

“Christen! Details!” Tyler laughed. “Oh my gosh, where’s he from?”

Christen laughed along with her sister and then cleared her throat. It was now or never.

“She..” Christen enunciated the word with a smile. “Lives in Portland.”

Tyler was grinning, nodding as she thought about Portland and how manageable that could be. And then it dawned on her.

“Wait, wait.” She asked, looking at Christen again. “Did you just say she?”

Christen nodded, her face a little blushed. She didn’t know the reaction she was going to get from her family. She knew it wouldn’t be a problem, but it was maybe going to be a little surprising.

“Ohhh...” Tyler nodded like she understood. “So like, you became good friends or something? Had someone to sightsee with?”

Christen bit the inside of her cheek and tried not to let this conversation turn awkward. “Well yea I guess so, but like.. more than that.”

“Oh..” Tyler went quiet for just a beat. She then made eye contact with Christen again and her face said it all. “OHHH.”

Christen couldn’t stop laughing, watching Tyler’s face as the information was processing.

“So you mean it was like.. a thing?” She asked for confirmation.

“It is, yea.” Christen corrected with a nod.

“Is, as in, like still is a thing?” Tyler continued to question, trying to keep up. This was not a conversation she was expecting to have this evening.

“Yea.” Christen smiled as she looked out the window again, pausing for a moment. Tyler didn’t speak.

“I mean we will see how it goes, but we’re going to keep talking and stuff..”

Christen didn’t want to get too detailed right now. She and Tobin still had so much to figure out with the distance and stuff, but they knew that it was worth giving this thing a chance.

“Oh my gosh, Chris.” Tyler beamed, already totally on board. “What’s she like?”

Christen took her time explaining Tobin in the best way she knew how. She found it a little difficult to get her words exactly right. She had never met anyone else like Tobin and felt like no matter what words she used, they didn’t do her justice.

When Christen finished, Tyler laughed again. “Holy shit.. You’re like, really into her.”

Christen groaned at the playful teasing and blushed again.”Yea, she’s pretty incredible.”

A moment of silence fell among them as Tyler was digesting all of this new information that her little sister was giving her.

“You know what, I’m not even that surprised.” Tyler spoke again after a minute, almost a hint of gloating in her voice.

“What do you mean by that?” Christen questioned.

“I mean there was always something off between you and  _ dumb Ryan _ .” Tyler explained, trying to keep the spite out of her tone at the mention of Christen’s ex boyfriend. She knew how hard he had made Christen’s life the past couple months.

“Like, it never fully clicked.” Tyler continued. “And I always kind of wondered...”

Christen’s mouth dropped open a little, letting Tyler’s words hit her. “Wait, you had suspicions?”

Tyler laughed, putting her right hand to her heart as she held the steering wheel. “I don’t know.. Maybe?? Just in like a supportive way..”

“Oh my god.” Christen shook her head with a smile. She couldn’t help but laugh.  

Tyler’s thoughts were running rampant, she was dying for more details but she didn’t want to press too much.

“So, did you like.. kiss her or anything?” She asked in a calmer voice, unsure of what Christen would share.

Christen laughed again and raised her eyebrows, looking at Tyler. When Christen could tell that Tyler seriously wanted to know, she answered honestly.  “Umm.. yea..”

“Oh my gosh!” She was so excited. “How was it? Was it different? Did you do anything else?”

Christen had no idea what type of questions she would get when she told her family, but the sexual aspect was not one of the first ones she expected.

Tyler’s eyes went wide again when Christen didn’t answer. “Oh my God! You totally had sex!” Tyler exclaimed, very curiously.

The car was moving towards an intersection as Tyler was barely paying attention to her surroundings. Christen put her hands on the dash as Tyler drove through the end of a yellow light, entering the intersection as the light turned red, earning honks from all the cars around them.

“Tyler!” Christen yelled. “You’re going to kill us!”

Tyler just looked in the rearview mirror unaffected. “Whoops. Sorry! I’m just excited.”

“Well pay attention.” Christen begged. “I can’t answer any more of your ridiculous questions if we crash.” They both laughed again. 

Christen continued to fill Tyler in on the situation as they made it to her house. She explained that Tobin was a soccer player who lived in Portland and also played for the National Team. That she traveled a lot and and they would get to spend time together in LA in three weeks. That they were taking things one day at a time but were really into each other and wanted to see where the relationship could go. And yes, that they had indeed had sex. Tyler was thrilled at it all. She loved any type of relationship gossip, much to Christen’s usual annoyance.

Tyler promised not to pry too much going forward as long as Christen kept her up to date with all of the important information. She also scolded Christen again for not checking in all week, making her promise not to do that again.

Finally Christen was climbing out of Tyler’s car in the driveway of her Manhattan Beach townhouse, home for the first time in eleven days. Tyler got out of the car to help Christen unload her luggage from the trunk. 

“Chris, seriously, I’m glad you’re back.” Tyler pulled her into another hug, tight and meaningful this time. “And I’m really glad you found some happiness over there. You deserve it.” 

“Thanks, Ty.” Christen smiled, relieved that her big sister, whom she’s looked up to her whole life, was taking this so well and was seemingly excited about it.

Tyler pushed her sunglasses down onto her eyes again, walking back towards the driver's seat. “I fully expect to meet this Tobin when she’s in LA.” Tyler smiled lovingly at her sister, sliding back into her car without another word. 

Christen watched her drive off with a sense of calmness, like she had flipped the page on her life over the past week and a half and a new chapter was just beginning. She couldn’t wait to see where it would go. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Christen made it home safely! 
> 
> So I've been doing a lot of thinking about how I want this storyline to continue and I've come up with a general idea. It sounds great in my head right now but I'm sorry if I don't deliver... So here goes:
> 
> I've started a new multi-chapter fic that will follow them through their long distance relationship. The first chapter is up now: Love on the Weekend. http://archiveofourown.org/works/9746294/chapters/21941027
> 
> My general idea is that it will be mostly centered on events in their life and not hit every single day, since it would be hard to do with a long distance relationship fic. It will probably become clear as it write it. (I hope) 
> 
> I've also set up a tumblr for it, if you guys have questions or suggestions, let me know. I think I will also include some little snippets that don't fit into the fic but that I've thought of, like phone calls, or them telling their friends about each other, etc. 
> 
> https://whatname0523.tumblr.com/ 
> 
> Any feedback is welcome. You've all blown me away with the comments and kudos on this. Thank you, thank you.


End file.
